***************** 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 


THE 


MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT, 


A.  J.  GORDON,  D.  D. 


WITH 

AN  INTRODUCTION 

BY 

REV.  F.  B.  MEYER 
Minister  at  Christ  Church,  London 


PHILADELPHIA 

AMERICAN  BAPTIST  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 

1420  CHESTNUT  STREET 

1895 


Copyright  1894  by  the 
AMERICAN  BAPTIST  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 


INHERITORS  OF  THE  SPIRIT 


PREFACE 


IT  is  not  claimed  that  in  this  little  volume  all  has 
been  said  that  might  be  said  upon  the  subject 
treated.  On  the  contrary,  the  writer  has  proceeded 
upon  the  belief  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
can  be  better  understood  by  limiting  the  sphere  of 
discussion,  rather  than  by  extending  it  to  the  largest 
bounds.  For  finite  beings,  at  least,  presence  is 
more  intelligible  than  omnipresence.  So,  though 
the  subject  of  this  book  is  in  itself  profoundly  mys- 
terious, we  have  sought  to  simplify  it  by  dwelling 
upon  the  time-ministry  of  the  Holy  Ghost  without 
entering  upon  the  consideration  of  his  eternal  min- 
istry. What  the  Spirit  did  before  the  incarnation 
of  Christ,  and  what  he  may  do  hereafter  beyond 
the  second  advent  of  Christ,  is  a  question  hardly 
touched  upon  in  this  volume.  We  have  sought 
rather  to  emphasize  and  to  magnify  the  great  truth 
that  the  Paraclete  is  now  present  in  the  church  : 
that  we  are  living  in  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit, 
with  all  the  unspeakable  blessing  for  the  church 
and  for  the  world  which  this  economy  provides. 
Hence,  as  we  speak  of  the  ministry  of  Christ 


V11*  PREFACE 

meaning  a  service  embraced  within  denned  limits, 
so  we  name  this  volume  the  "  Ministry  of  the 
Spirit,"  as  referring  to  the  work  of  the  Comforter 
extending  from  Pentecost  to  the  end  of  this  dis- 
pensation. 

How  deep  a  subject  for  a  study !  What  prayer 
more  becoming  for  those  entering  upon  it  than  the 
humble  petition  that  the  Spirit  himself  will  teach 
us  concerning  the  Spirit !  Deeply  sensible  of  the 
imperfection  of  this  work,  it  is  now  committed  to 
the  use  and  blessing  of  that  Divine  Person  of  the 
Godhead  of  whom  it  so  unworthily  speaks. 

A.  J.  G. 

BOSTON,  Dec.,  1894. 


INTRODUCTION 


IT  is  remarkable  how  many  in  these  last  days 
have  been  led  to  deal  with  the  sublime  subject  to 
which  this  treatise  is  devoted.  Without  doubt  the 
mind  of  the  church  is  being  instructed,  and  her 
heart  prepared  for  a  recognition  of  the  indwelling, 
administration,  and  co-operation  of  the  blessed 
Paraclete,  which  has  never  been  excelled  in  her  his- 
tory, and  is  fraught  with  the  greatest  promise  both 
to  her  and  to  the  world. 

Each  of  these  treatises  has  brought  out  some 
new  phase  in  respect  to  the  person  or  mission  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  but  I  cannot  recall  one  that  is  so 
lucid,  so  suggestive,  so  scriptural,  so  deeply 
spiritual  as  this,  by  my  beloved  friend,  Dr.  Gordon. 
The  chapters  on  the  Embodying,  the  Enduement, 
and  the  Administration  of  the  Spirit  seem  specially 
fresh  and  helpful.  But  all  is  good,  and  deserving 
of  prayerful  perusal.  Let  only  such  truths  be  well 
wrought  into  the  mental  and  spiritual  constitution 


X  INTRODUCTION 

of  God's  servants,  and  there  would  be  such  a 
revival  of  pure  and  undefiled  religion  in  the 
churches,  and  such  marvelous  results  through  them 
on  the  world  that  the  age  would  close  with  a  world- 
wide Pentecost.  And  there  are  many  symptoms 
abroad  that  this  also  is  in  the  purpose  of  God. 
Nothing  else  can  meet  the  deepest  needs  and  yearn- 
ings of  our  time. 

Christianity  is  beset  with  three  powerful  cur- 
rents, which  insidiously  operate  to  deflect  her  from 
her  course.  Materialism,  which  denies  or  ignores 
the  supernatural,  and  concentrates  its  heed  on 
ameliorating  the  outward  conditions  of  human  life ; 
criticism,  which  is  clever  at  analysis  and  dissection, 
but  cannot  construct  a  foundation  on  which  the 
religious  faculty  may  build  and  rest ;  and  a  fine 
literary  taste,  which  has  greatly  developed  of  late, 
and  is  disposed  to  judge  of  power  by  force  of 
words  or  by  delicacy  of  expression. 

To  all  of  these  we  have  but  one  reply.  And 
that  is,  not  a  system,  a  creed,  a  church,  but  the  liv- 
ing Christ,  who  was  dead,  but  is  alive  forevermore, 
and  has  the  keys  to  unlock  all  perplexities,  prob- 
lems, and  failures.  Though  society  could  be  re- 


INTRODUCTION  XI 

constituted,  and  material  necessities  be  more  evenly 
supplied,  discontent  would  break  out  again  in  some 
other  form,  unless  the  heart  were  satisfied  with  his 
love.  The  truth  which  he  reveals  to  the  soul,  and 
which  is  ensphered  in  him,  is  alone  able  to  appease 
the  consuming  hunger  of  the  mind  for  data  on 
which  to  construct  its  answer  to  the  questions  of 
life  and  destiny  and  God,  which  are  ever  knocking 
at  its  door  for  solution.  And  men  have  yet  to 
learn  that  the  highest  power  is  not  in  words  or 
metaphors  or  bursts  of  eloquence,  but  in  the  in- 
dwelling and  out-working  of  the  Word,  who  is  the 
wisdom  and  the  power  of  God,  and  who  deals  with 
regions  below  those  where  the  mind  vainly  labors. 
Jesus  Christ,  the  ever-living  Son  of  God,  is  the 
one  supreme  answer  to  the  restlessness  and  travail 
of  our  day.  But  he  cannot,  he  will  not  reveal  him- 
self. Each  person  in  the  Holy  Trinity  reveals 
another.  The  Son  reveals  the  Father,  but  his  own 
revelation  awaits  the  testimony  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
which,  though  often  given  directly,  is  largely 
through  the  church.  What  we  need  then,  and 
what  the  world  is  waiting  for,  is  the  Son  of  God, 
borne  witness  to  and  revealed  in  all  his  radiant 


Xll  INTRODUCTION 

beauty  of  the  ministry  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  he 
energizes  with  and  through  the  saints  that  make 
up  the  holy  and  mystical  body,  the  church. 

It  is  needful  to  emphasize  this  distinction.  In 
some  quarters  it  seems  to  be  supposed  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  himself  is  the  solution  of  the  perplexi- 
ties of  our  time.  Now  what  we  may  witness  in 
some  coming  age  we  know  not,  but  in  this  it  is 
clear  that  God  in  the  person  of  Christ  is  the  one 
only  and  divine  answer.  Here  is  God's  yea  and 
amen,  the  Alpha  and  Omega,  sight  for  the  blind, 
healing  for  the  paralyzed,  cleansing  for  the  polluted, 
life  for  the  dead,  the  gospel  for  the  poor  and  sad 
and  comfortless.  Now  we  covet  the  gracious  be- 
stowal of  the  Spirit,  that  he  may  take  more  deeply 
of  the  things  of  Christ,  and  reveal  them  unto  us. 
When  the  disciples  sought  to  know  the  Father,  the 
Lord  said,  He  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the 
Father.  It  is  his  glory  that  shines  on  my  face,  his 
will  that  molds  my  life,  his  purpose  that  is  fulfilled 
in  my  ministry.  So  the  blessed  Paraclete  would 
turn  our  thought  and  attention  from  himself  to  him, 
with  whom  he  is  One  in  the  Holy  Trinity,  and 
whom  he  has  come  to  reveal. 


INTRODUCTION  Xlll 

Throughout  the  so-called  Christian  centuries  the 
voice  of  the  Holy  Spirit  has  borne  witness  to  the 
Lord,  directly  and  mediately.  Directly,  in  each 
widespread  quickening  of  the  human  conscience,  in 
each  revival  of  religion,  in  each  era  of  advance  in 
the  knowledge  of  divine  truth,  in  each  soul  that  has 
been  regenerated,  comforted,  or  taught.  Mediately 
his  work  has  been  carried  on  through  the  church, 
the  body  of  those  that  believe.  But,  alas !  how 
sadly  his  witness  has  been  weakened  and  hindered 
by  the  medium  through  which  it  has  come.  He 
has  not  been  able  to  do  many  mighty  works  because 
of  the  unbelief  which  has  kept  closed  and  barred 
those  avenues  through  which  he  would  have  poured 
his  glad  testimony  to  the  unseen  and  glorified 
Lord. 

The  divisions  of  the  church,  her  strife  about 
matters  of  comparative  unimportance,  her  magnifi- 
cation of  points  of  difference,  her  materialism,  her 
love  of  pelf  and  place  and  power,  her  accounting 
herself  rich  and  increased  in  goods  and  needing 
nothing,  when  she  was  poor,  and  miserable,  and 
blind,  and  naked — these  things  have  not  only 
robbed  her  of  her  testimony,  but  have  grieved  and 


XIV  INTRODUCTION 

quenched  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  nullified  his  testi- 
mony. 

We  gladly  hail  the  signs  that  this  period  of 
apathy  and  resistance  is  coming  to  a  close.  The 
Church  which  is  in  the  churches  is  making  herself 
felt,  is  arising  from  the  dust  and  arraying  herself 
in  her  beautiful  garments.  There  is  a  widespread 
recognition  of  the  unity  of  all  who  believe,  together 
with  an  increasing  desire  to  magnify  the  points  of 
agreement  and  minimize  those  of  divergence.  The 
great  conventions  for  the  quickening  of  spiritual  life 
on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  in  which  believers 
meet,  irrespective  of  name  or  sect,  are  doing  an 
incalculable  amount  of  good  in  breaking  down  the 
old  lines  of  demarcation,  and  making  real  our 
spiritual  oneness.  The  teaching  of  consecration 
and  cleanliness  of  heart  and  life  is  removing  those 
obstacles  that  have  restrained  and  drowned  the 
Spirit's  still  small  voice.  The  fuller's  soap  and 
the  refiner's  fire  have  been  largely  resorted  to,  with 
the  best  results.  And  as  believers  have  become 
more  consistent  and  devoted, .  they  have  grown 
increasingly  sensitive  to  the  indwelling,  energy,  and 
co- witness  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 


INTRODUCTION  XV 

If  only  this  glorious  movement  is  permitted  to 
achieve  its  full  purpose,  the  effect  will  be  trans- 
cendently  glorious.  The  church  will  become  as 
pliant  to  the  Divine  Tenant  as  the  resurrection 
body  of  our  Lord  to  the  impulse  of  his  divine 
nature.  And  so  the  Lord  Jesus  will  increasingly 
become  the  object  of  human  hope,  the  center  around 
which  the  concentric  circles  of  human  life  shall 
circle. 

That  the  Lord  Jesus  should  be  thus  magnified 
and  glorified  through  the  ministry  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  with  this  end  in  view,  that  the  hearts 
and  lives  of  believers  should  be  made  more  sensi- 
tive to  and  receptive  of  his  blessed  energy,  this 
treatise  has  been  prepared ;  and  I  add  my  testi- 
mony to  the  beloved  author's,  that  in  the  mouth 
of  two  witnesses,  every  word  may  be  established ; 
and  my  prayer  to  his  that  the  yea  of  the  Spirit  to 
the  great  voice  of  the  gospel  may  be  heard  more 
mightily  and  persistently  amongst  us. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE   AGE-MISSION  OF  THE  SPIRIT.      INTRODUCTORY,  II 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  ADVENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT 17 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE  NAMING  OF  THE  SPIRIT, 33 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  EMBODYING  OF  THE  SPIRIT, 5 1 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  ENDUEMENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT, 65 

I.  Sealing ;  2.  Filling ;  3.  Anointing. 
CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  COMMUNION  OF  THE  SPIRIT, 97 

1.  The  Spirit  of  Life  :  Our  Regeneration. 

2.  The  Spirit  of  Holiness  :  Our  Sanctification. 

3.  The  Spirit  of  Glory  :  Our  Transfiguration. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT, 127 

1.  In  the  Ministry  and  Government  of  the  Church. 

2.  In  the  Worship  and  Service  of  the  Church. 

3.  In  the  Missionary  Enterprise  of  the  Church. 


XV111  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  INSPIRATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT, 163 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  CONVICTION  OF  THE  SPIRIT 185 

I.  Of  Sin  ;  2.  Of  Righteousness  ;  3.  Of  Judgment. 
CHAPTER  X. 

THE  ASCENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT, 2OJ 


THE  AGE-MISSION    OF    THE  SPIRIT 


"It  is  evident  that  the  present  dispensation  under  which 
we  are  is  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit,  or  of  the  Third  Per- 
son of  the  Holy  Trinity.  To  him  in  the  Divine  economy, 
has  been  committed  the  office  of  applying  the  redemption  of 
the  Son  to  the  souls  of  men  by  the  vocation,  justification,  and 
salvation  of  the  elect.  We  are  therefore  under  the  personal 
guidance  of  the  Third  Person,  as  truly  as  the  apostles  were 
under  the  guidance  of  the  Second." — Henry  Edward  Man- 
ning. 


THE     AGE-MISSION    OF    THE     SPIRIT INTRODUCTORY 

IN  some  observations  on  the  doctrine  of  the  Spirit, 
which  lie  before  us  as  we  write,  an  eminent 
professor  of  theology  remarks  on  the  disproportion- 
ate attention  which  has  been  given  to  the  person 
and  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  compared  with  that 
bestowed  on  the  life  and  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ. 
It  is  affirmed,  moreover,  that  in  many  of  the  works 
upon  the  subject  now  extant  there  is  a  lack  of  defi- 
niteness  of  impression  which  leaves  much  still  to  be 
desired  in  the  treatment  of  this  subject.  These  ob- 
servations lead  us  to  ask  :  Why  not  employ  the  same 
method  in  writing  about  the  Third  Person  of  the 
Trinity  as  we  use  in  considering  the  Second  Person  ? 
Scores  of  excellent  lives  of  Christ  have  been  written ; 
and  we  find  that  in  these,  almost  without  exception, 
the  divine  story  begins  with  Bethlehem  and  ends  with 
Olivet  Though  the  Saviour  lived  before  his  incar- 
nation, and  continues  to  live  after  his  ascension,  yet 
it  gives  a  certain  definiteness  of  impression  to  limit 
one's  view  to  his  historic  career,  distinguishing  his 
visible  life  lived  in  time  from  his  invisible  life  lived 
in  eternity. 

B  13 


14  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

So  in  considering  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  believe 
there  is  an  advantage  in  separating  his  ministry  in 
time  from  his  ministry  before  and  after,  bounding 
it  by  Pentecost  on  the  one  side,  and  by  Christ's 
second  coming  on  the  other.     We  have  to  confess 
that  in  many  respects  one  of  the  best  treatises  on 
the  Spirit  which  we  have  found  is  by  a  Roman 
Catholic  —  Cardinal    Manning.      Notwithstanding 
the  papistical  errors  which  abound  in  the  volume, 
his  general  conception  of  the  subject  is  in  some 
particulars  admirable.     His  treatise  is  called  "The 
Temporal    Mission    of    the    Holy   Ghost."     How 
much   is  suggested  by  this  title !     Just  as  Jesus 
Christ  had  a  time-ministry  which  he  came  into  the 
world  to  fulfill,  and  having  accomplished  it  returned 
to  the  Father,  so  the  Holy  Spirit,  for  the  fulfillment 
of  a  definite  mission,  came  into  the  world  at  an 
appointed  time ;  he  is  now  carrying  on  his  ministry 
on  earth,  and  in  due  time  he  will  complete  it  and 
ascend  to  heaven  again — this  is  what  these  words 
suggest,   and  what,  as  we  believe,  the   Scriptures 
teach.     If  we  thus  form  a  right  conception  of  this 
present  age-ministry  of  the  Spirit,  we  have  a  defi 
nite  view-point  from  which  to  study  his  operations 
in  the  ages  past,  and  his  greater  mission,  if  there 
be  such,  in  the  ages  to  come. 

Now  we  conceive  that  the  vagueness  and  mystery 
attaching  in  many  minds  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
Spirit,  are  due  largely  to  a  failure  to  recognize  his 


THE  AGE-MISSION  15 

time-ministry,   distinct   from  all  that  went  before 
and  introductory  to  all  that  is  to  come  after — a 
ministry  with  a  definite  beginning  and  a  definite 
termination.     Certainly  no  one  can  read  the  fare- 
well discourse  of  our  Lord,  as  recorded  by  John, 
without  being  impressed  with  the  fact  that  just  as 
distinctly   as    his    own    advent   was    foretold    by 
prophets  and  angels,  he  now  announces  the  advent 
into  the  world  of  another,  co-equal  with  himself, 
his  Divine  successor,  his  other  self  in  the  myste- 
rious   unity  of   the    Godhead.     And   moreover,   it 
seems  clear  to  us  that  he  implied  that  this  coming 
One  was  to  appear  not  only  for  an  appointed  work, 
but  for  an  appointed  period  :     "He  shall  give  you 
another  Comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with  you  for- 
ever " — its  rdv  alwva.     If  we  translate  literally  and 
say  "for  the  age"  it  harmonizes  with  a  parallel 
passage.     In  giving  the  great   commission,  Jesus 
says :     "  And    lo,    I    am    with   you    alway,    even 
unto    the    end  of   the    age"     Here   his    presence 
by  the  Holy  Ghost  is  evidently  meant.     The  per- 
petuity  of    that    presence    is    guaranteed,    "with 
you    all   the   days " ;    and   its    bound   determined, 
"  unto  the  end  of  the  age."     Not  that  it  need  be 
argued   that  he  shall  not  be  here  after  this  dis- 
pensation  is   finished ;   but   that   there   is  such  a 
thing  as    a   temporal   mission  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
does  seem  to  be  implied.     And  a  full  study  con- 
firms the  view.     The  present  is  the  dispensation  of 


16  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

the  Holy  Ghost ;  the  age-work  which  he  inaugu- 
rated on  the  day  of  Pentecost  is  now  going  on,  and 
it  will  continue  until  the  Lord  Jesus  returns  from 
heaven,  when  another  order  will  be  ushered  in  and 
another  dispensational  ministry  succeed. 

In  the  well-known  work  of  Moberly,  on  "The 
Administration  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  Body  of 
Christ,"  the  author  divides  the  course  of  redemption 
thus  far  accomplished  into  these  three  stages  :  The 
first  age,  God  the  Father ;  the  second  age,  God  the 
Son;  and  the  third  age,  God  the  Holy  Ghost. 
This  distribution  seems  to  be  correct,  and  so  does 
his  remark  upon  the  inauguration  of  the  last  of 
these  periods  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  "  At  that 
moment,"  he  says,  "  the  third  stage  of  the  develop- 
ment [manifestation]  of  God  for  the  restoration  of 
the  world  finally  began,  never  to  come  to  an  end  or 
to  be  superseded  on  earth  till  the  restitution  of  all 
things,  when  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  again  in 
the  clouds  of  heaven,  in  like  manner  as  his  disciples 
saw  him  go  into  heaven."  And  what  shall  be  the 
next  period,  "  the  age  to  come,"  whose  powers  they 
have  already  tasted  who  have  been  "  made  partakers 
of  the  Holy  Ghost "  ?  This  question  need  not 
be  answered,  as  we  have  done  all  that  is  required, 
defined  the  age  of  the  Spirit  which  constitutes  the 
6eld  in  which  our  entire  discussion  lies. 


n 

THE  ADVENT  OF   THE  SPIRIT 


"Therefore  the  Holy  Ghost  on  this  day — Pentecost — de- 
scended into  the  temple  of  his  apostles,  which  he  had  pre- 
pared for  himself,  as  a  shower  of  sanctification,  appearing 
no  more  as  a  transient  visitor,  but  as  a  perpetual  Comforter 
and  as  an  eternal  inhabitant.  He  came  therefore  on  this 
day  to  his  disciples,  no  longer  by  the  grace  of  visitation  and 
operation,  but  by  the  very  presence  of  his  majesty." — Au- 
gustine. 


II 

THE    ADVENT    OF     THE    SPIRIT 

11  t?OR  the  Holy  Ghost  was  not  yet"  is  the  more 
A  than  surprising  saying  of  Jesus  when  speaking 
of  "the  Spirit  which  they  that  believe  on  him 
should  receive."  Had  not  the  Spirit  been  seen  de- 
scending upon  Jesus  like  a  dove  at  his  baptism,  and 
remaining  on  him  ?  Had  he  not  been  the  divine 
agent  in  creation,  and  in  the  illumination  and  in- 
spiration of  the  patriarchs  and  prophets  and  seers 
of  the  old  dispensation  ?  How  then  could  Jesus 
say  that  he  "was  not  yet  given,"  as  the  words 
read  in  our  Common  version  ?  The  answer  to  this 
question  furnishes  our  best  point  of  departure  for 
an  intelligent  study  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Spirit. 
Augustine  calls  the  day  of  Pentecost  the  "dies 
natalis  "  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  for  the  same  rea- 
son that  the  day  when  Mary  "brought  forth  her 
first-born  son"  we  name  "the  birthday  of  Jesus 
Christ."  Yet  Jesus  had  existed  before  he  lay  in  the 
cradle  at  Bethlehem ;  he  was  "  in  the  beginning  with 
God  "  ;  he  was  the  agent  in  creation.  By  him  all 
things  were.  But  on  the  day  of  his  birth  he  became 
incarnate,  that  in  the  flesh  he  might  fulfill  his  great 

19 


20  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

ministry  as  the  Apostle  and  High  Priest  of  our  con- 
fession, manifesting  God  to  men,  and  making  him- 
self an  offering  for  the  sins  of  the  world.  Not 
until  after  his  birth  in  Bethlehem  was  Jesus  in  the 
world  in  his  official  capacity,  in  his  divine  ministry 
as  mediator  between  man  and  God ;  and  so  not  till 
after  the  day  of  Pentecost  was  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
the  world  in  his  official  sphere,  as  mediator  between 
men  and  Christ.  In  the  following  senses  then  is 
Augustine's  saying  true,  which  calls  Pentecost  "  the 
birthday  of  the  Spirit "  : 

I.  The  Holy  Spirit,  from  that  time  on,  took  up 
his  residence  on  earth.  The  Christian  church 
throughout  all  this  dispensation  is  the  home  of  the 
Spirit  as  truly  as  heaven,  during  this  same  period, 
is  the  home  of  Jesus  Christ.  This  is  according  to 
that  sublime  word  of  Jesus,  called  by  one  "the 
highest  promise  which  can  be  made  to  man  "  :  "  If 
a  man  "love  me  he  will  keep  my  words:  and  my 
Father  will  love  him,  and  we  will  come  unto  him, 
and  make  our  abode  with  him  "  (John  14  :  23). 
This  promise  was  fulfilled  at  Pentecost,  and  the 
first  two  Persons  of  the  Godhead  now  hold  residence 
in  the  church  through  the  Third.  The  Holy  Spirit 
during  the  present  time  is  in  office  on  earth ;  and 
all  spiritual  presence  and  divine  communion  of  the 
Trinity  with  men  are  through  him.  In  other  words, 
while  the  Father  and  the  Son  are  visibly  and  per- 
sonally in  heaven,  they  are  invisibly  here  in  the 


THE  ADVENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  21 

body  of  the  faithful  by  the  indwelling  of  the  Com- 
forter. So  that  though  we  affirm  that  on  the  day 
of  Pentecost  the  Holy  Spirit  came  to  dwell  upon 
earth  for  this  entire  dispensation,  we  do  not  imply 
that  he  thereby  ceased  to  be  in  heaven.  Not  with 
God,  as  with  finite  man,  does  arrival  in  one  place 
necessitate  withdrawal  from  another.  Jesus  uttered 
a  saying  concerning  himself  so  mysterious  and 
seemingly  contradictory  that  many  attempts  have 
been  made  to  explain  away  its  literal  and  obvious 
meaning  :  "And  no  man  hath  ascended  up  to  heaven 
but  he  that  came  down  from  heaven,  even  the  Son 
of  man  who  is  in  heaven" — Christ  on  earth,  and 
yet  in  glory ;  here  and  there,  at  the  same  time, 
just  as  a  thought  which  we  embody  in  speech  and 
send  forth  from  the  mind,  yet  remains  in  the  mind 
as  really  and  distinctly  as  before  it  was  expressed. 
Why  should  this  saying  concerning  our  divine  Lord 
seem  incredible  ?  And  as  with  the  Son,  so  with  the 
Spirit.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  here,  abiding  perpetu- 
ally in  the  church ;  and  he  is  likewise  there,  in  com- 
munion with  the  Father  and  the  Son  from  whom  he 
proceeds,  and  from  whom,  as  co-equal  partner  in  the 
Godhead,  he  can  never  be  separated  any  more  than 
the  sunbeam  can  be  dissociated  from  the  sun  in 
which  it  has  its  source. 

2.  Again :  The  Holy  Spirit,  in  a  mystical  but 
very  real  sense,  became  embodied  in  the  church  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost.  Not  that  we  would  by  any 


22  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

means  put  this  embodiment  on  the  same  plane  with 
the  incarnation  of  the  Second  Person  of  the  Trinity. 
When  "  the  Word  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among 
us,"  it  was  God  entering  into  union  with  sinless 
humanity ;  here  it  is  the  Holy  Spirit  uniting  him- 
self with  the  church  in  its  imperfect  and  militant 
condition.  Nevertheless,  it  is  according  to  literal 
Scripture  that  the  body  of  the  faithful  is  indwelt 
by  the  divine  Spirit.  In  this  fact  we  have  the  dis- 
tinguishing peculiarity  of  the  present  dispensation. 
" For  he  dwelleth  with  you  and  shall  be  in  you" 
said  Jesus,  speaking  anticipatively  of  the  coming  of 
the  Comforter ;  and  so  truly  was  this  prediction  ful- 
filled that  ever  after  the  day  of  Pentecost  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  spoken  of  as  being  in  the  church.  "If  so 
be  tliat  the  Spirit  of  God  dwell  in  you  "  is  the  in- 
spired assumption  on  which  the  deep  teaching  in 
Romans  eighth  proceeds.  All  the  recognition 
and  deference  which  the  disciples  paid  to  their 
Lord  they  now  pay  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  his  true 
vicar,  his  invisible  self,  present  in  the  body  of  be- 
lievers. How  artlessly  and  naturally  this  comes  out 
in  the  findings  of  the  first  council  at  Jerusalem  : 
"It  seemed  good  to  the  Holy  Ghost  and  to  us"  runs 
the  record ;  as  though  it  had  been  said  :  "  Peter  and 
James  and  Barnabas  and  Saul  and  the  rest  were 
present,  and  also  just  as  truly  was  the  Holy  Ghost." 
And  when  the  first  capital  sin  was  committed 
in  the  church,  in  the  conspiracy  and  falsehood 


THE   ADVENT  OP  THE  SPIRIT  23 

of  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  Peter's  question  is : 
"  Why  hath  Satan  filled  thine  heart  to  lie  to  the 
Holy  Ghost  ? "  "  How  is  it  that  ye  have  agreed 
together  to  tempt  the  Holy  Ghost  ? "  Not  only  is 
the  personal  presence  of  the  Spirit  in  the  body  of 
believers  thus  distinctly  recognized,  but  he  is  there 
in  authority  and  supremacy,  as  the  center  of  the 
assembly.  "  Incarnated  in  the  church  ! "  do  we 
say?  We  get  this  conception  by  comparing  to- 
gether the  inspired  characterizations  of  Christ  and 
of  the  church.  "  This  temple  "  was  the  name  which 
he  gave  to  his  own  divine  person,  greatly  to  the 
scandal  and  indignation  of  the  Jews  ;  and  the  evan- 
gelist explains  to  us  that  "  he  spoke  of  the  temple 
of  his  body."  A  metaphor,  a  type !  do  we  say  ? 
No  !  He  said  so  because  it  was  so.  "  The  Word 
was  made  flesh  and  tabernacled  among  us,  and  we 
beheld  his  glory"  (John  I  :  14).  This  is  temple  im- 
agery. "  Tabernacled  "  (iffxyvaxrev)  is  the  word  used 
in  Scripture  for  the  dwelling  of  God  with  men  ;  and 
the  temple  is  God's  dwelling-place.  The  "  glory  " 
harmonizes  with  the  same  idea.  As  the  Shechinah 
cloud  rested  above  the  mercy-seat,  the  symbol  and 
sign  of  God's  presence,  so  from  the  Holy  of  Holies 
of  our  blessed  Lord's  heart  did  the  glory  of  God 
shine  forth,  "  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of 
the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth,"  certifying  him 
to  be  the  veritable  temple  of  the  Most  High. 

After  his  ascension  and  the  sending  down  of  the 


24  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

Spirit,  the  church  takes  the  name  her  Lord  had  borne 
before ;  she  is  the  temple  of  God,  and  the  only  tem- 
ple which  he  has  on  earth  during  the  present  dis- 
pensation. "  Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple 
of  God,  and  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you  ? " 
asks  the  apostle.  This  he  speaks  to  the  church  in 
its  corporate  capacity.  "A  holy  temple  in  the 
Lord,  in  whom  ye  also  are  builded  together  for  a 
habitation  of  God  through  the  Spirit,"  is  the  sub- 
lime description  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians.  It 
is  enough  that  we  now  emphasize  the  fact  that  the 
same  language  is  here  applied  to  the  church  which 
Christ  applies  to  himself.  As  with  the  Head,  so 
with  the  mystical  body;  each  is  indwelt  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  thus  is  God  in  some  sense  incar- 
nated in  both ;  and  for  the  same  reason.  Christ 
was  "  the  Image  of  the  Invisible  God  "  ;  and  when 
he  stood  before  men  in  the  flesh  he  could  say  to 
them,  "He  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the 
Father."  Not  otherwise  than  through  the  incar- 
nation, so  far  as  we  know,  could  the  unknown  God 
become  known,  and  the  unseen  God  become  seen. 
So,  after  Christ  had  returned  to  the  Father,  and  the 
world  saw  him  no  more,  he  sent  the  Paraclete  to  be 
incarnated  *  in  his  mystical  body,  the  church.  As 
the  Father  revealed  himself  through  the  Son,  so 
the  Son  by  the  Holy  Spirit  now  reveals  himself 
through  the  church ;  as  Christ  was  the  image  of 
the  invisible  God,  so  the  church  is  appointed  to  be 


THE  ADVENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  25 

the  image  of  the  invisible  Christ ;  and  his  members, 
when  they  are  glorified  with  him,  shall  be  the  ex- 
press image  of  his  person. 

This  then  is  the  mystery  and  the  glory  of  this 
dispensation ;  not  less  true  because  mysterious ; 
not  less  practical  because  glorious.  In  an  ad- 
mirable work  on  the  Spirit,  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  former  and  the  present  relation  of  the 
Spirit  is  thus  stated  :  "  In  the  old  dispensation  the 
Holy  Spirit  wrought  upon  believers,  but  did  not  in 
his  person  dwell  in  believers  and  abide  permanently 
in  them.  He  appeared  unto  men ;  he  did  not  in- 
carnate himself  in  man.  His  action  was  intermit- 
tent ;  he  went  and  came  like  the  dove  which  Noah 
sent  forth  from  the  ark,  and  which  went  to  and  fro, 
finding  no  rest ;  while  in  the  new  dispensation  he 
dwells,  he  abides  in  the  heart  as  the  dove,  his  emblem, 
which  John  saw  descending  and  alighting  on  the  head 
of  Jesus.  Affianced  of  the  soul,  the  Spirit  went  oft 
to  see  his  betrothed,  but  was  not  yet  one  with  her ; 
the  marriage  was  not  consummated  until  the  Pen- 
tecost, after  the  glorification  of  Jesus  Christ."  * 

3.  A  still  more  obvious  reason  why  before  the 
day  of  Pentecost  it  could  be  said  that  "  the  Holy 
Ghcst  was  not  yet,"  is  contained  in  the  words, 
"Because  tJiat  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified"  In  the 
order  of  the  unfolding  ages  we  see  each  of  the  per 
sons  of  the  Godhead  in  turn  exercising  an  earthly 

1 "  The  Work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  Man,"  by  Pastor  Tophel,  p.  32. 
C 


26  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

ministry  and   dealing   with   man    in   the  work   of 
redemption.     Under  the  law,  God  the  Father  comes 
down  to  earth  and  speaks  to  men  from  the  cloud  of 
Sinai    and  from   the  glory  above  the  mercy-seat ; 
under  grace,  God  the  Son  is  in  the  world,  teaching, 
suffering,  dying,  and  rising  again ;  under  the  dis- 
pensation of  election  and  out-gathering  now  going 
on,  the  Holy  Spirit  is  here  carrying  on  the  work  of 
renewing  and  sanctifying  the  church,  which  is  the 
body  of  Christ.     There  is  a  necessary  succession 
in  these  Divine  ministries,  both  in  time  and  in  char- 
acter.    In  the  days  of  Moses  it  might  have  been 
said  :     "  Christ  is  not  yet,"  because  the  economy 
of  God-Jehovah  was  not  completed.     The  law  must 
first  be  given,  with  its  sacrifices  and  types  and  cere- 
monies and   shadows ;    man  must   be  put  on  trial 
under  the  law,  till  the  appointed  time  of  his  school- 
ing should  be  completed.      Then  must  Christ  come 
to  fulfill  all  types  and  terminate  all  sacrifices  in 
himself ;  to  do  for  us  "  what  the  law  could  not  do 
in   that   it  was  weak   through   the   flesh,"  and   to 
become  "  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to 
every  one  that  believeth."     When  in  turn  Christ 
had  completed  his  redemption-work  by  dying  on  the 
cross  for  our  sins,  and  rising  again  from  the  dead 
for   our   justification,  and   had   taken   his  place  at 
God's  right  hand  for  perpetual   intercession,  then 
the   Holy  Ghost   came  down  to  communicate  and 
realize  to  the  church  the  finished  work  of  Christ. 


THE  ADVENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  37 

In  a  word,  as  God  the  Son  fulfills  to  men  the  work 
of  God  the  Father,  so  God  the  Holy  Ghost  realizes 
to  human  hearts  the  work  of  God  the  Son. 

There  is  a  holy  deference,  if  we  may  so  say, 
between  the  Persons  of  the  Trinity  in  regard  to 
their  respective  ministries.  When  Christ  was  in 
office  on  earth,  the  Father  commends  us  to  him, 
speaking  from  heaven  and  saying :  "  This  is  my 
beloved  Son,  hear  ye  him  "  ;  when  the  Holy  Ghost 
had  entered  upon  his  earthly  office,  Christ  com- 
mends us  to  him,  speaking  again  from  heaven  with 
sevenfold  reiteration,  saying :  "He  that  hath  an 
ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the 
churches."1  As  each  Person  refers  us  to  the  teach- 
ing of  the  other,  so  in  like  manner  does  each  in 
turn  consummate  the  ministry  of  the  other. 
Christ's  words  and  works  were  not  his  own,  but  his 
Father's  :  "  The  words  which  I  speak  unto  you  I 
speak  not  of  myself,  but  the  Father  that  dwelleth 
in  me  he  doeth  the  works."  2  The  Spirit's  teaching 
and  communications  are  not  his  own,  but  Christ's  : 
"  Howbeit  when  he  the  Spirit  of  truth  is  come,  he 
will  guide  you  into  all  truth  ;  for  he  shall  not  speak 
of  himself ;  but  whatsoever  he  shall  hear  that  shall 
he  speak  ;  and  he  will  show  you  things  to  come." 
"  He  shall  glorify  me  ;  for  he  shall  receive  of  mine 
and  show  it  unto  you'' 

This  order  in  the  ministries  of  the  Persons  of 

1  See  epistles  to  the  seven  churches :  Rev  2  :  II.  J  John  14  : 10. 


28  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

the  Godhead  is  so  fixed  and  eternal  that  we  find  it 
distinctly  foreshadowed  even  in  the  typical  teaching 
of  the  Old  Testament.  Many  speak  slightingly  of 
the  types,  but  they  are  as  accurate  as  mathematics  ; 
they  fix  the  sequence  of  events  in  redemption  as 
rigidly  as  the  order  of  sunrise  and  noontide  is  fixed 
in  the  heavens.  Nowhere  in  tabernacle  or  in  temple, 
shall  we  ever  find  the  laver  placed  before  the  altar. 
The  altar  is  Calvary  and  the  laver  is  Pentecost ; 
one  stands  for  the  sacrificial  blood,  the  other  for 
the  sanctifying  Spirit.  If  any  high  priest  were 
ignorantly  to  approach  the  brazen  laver  without 
first  having  come  to  the  brazen  altar,  we  might 
expect  a  rebuking  voice  to  be  heard  from  heaven  : 
"  Not  yet  the  washing  of  water"  ;  and  such  a  say- 
ing would  signify  exactly  the  same  as  :  "  Not  yet 
the  Holy  Ghost." 

Again,  when  the  leper  was  to  be  cleansed, 
observe  that  the  blood  was  to  be  put  upon  the  tip 
of  his  right  ear,  the  thumb  of  his  right  hand,  and 
the  great  toe  of  his  right  foot ;  and  then  the  oil  was 
to  be  put  upon  the  right  ear,  the  right  thumb,  and 
thi  right  foot — the  oil  upon  the  blood  of  tJie  trespass- 
offering  (Lev.  14).  Never,  we  venture  to  say,  in 
all  the  manifold  repetitions  of  this  divine  ceremony, 
was  this  order  once  inverted,  so  that  the  oil  was 
first  applied,  and  then  the  blood  ;  which  means,  in- 
terpreting type  into  antitype,  that  it  was  impossible 
that  Pentecost  could  have  preceded  Calvary,  or 


THE  ADVENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  29 

that    the    outpouring   of    the    Spirit    should    have 
anticipated  the  shedding  of  the  blood. 

(Then  let  us  reflect,  that  not  only  the  order  of 
these  two  great  events  of  redemption  was  fixed 
from  the  beginning,  but  their  dates  werp  marked  in 
the  calendar  of  typical  time.  The  slaying  of  the 
paschal  lamb  told  to  generation  after  generation, 
though  they  knew  it  not,  the  day  of  the  year  and 
week  on  which  Christ  our  Passover  should  be  sacri- 
ficed for  us.  The  presentation  of  the  wave  sheaf 
before  the  Lord,  "  on  the  morrow  after  the  Sabbath  "  1 
had  for  long  centuries  fixed  the  time  of  our  Lord's 
resurrection  on  the  first  day  of  the  week.  And  the 
command  to  "count  from  the  morrow  after  the 
Sabbath,  from  the  day  that  ye  brought  the  sheaf  of 
the  wave  offering,  seven  Sabbaths"  1  determined  the 
day  of  Pentecost  as  the  time  of  the  descent  of  the 
Spirit.  We  sometimes  think  of  the  disciples  wait- 
ing for  an  indefinite  period  in  that  upper  room  for 
the  fulfillment  of  the  promise  of  the  Father ;  but 
the  time  had  been  fixed  not  only  with  God  in 
eternity,  but  in  the  calendar  of  the  Hebrew  ritual 
upon  earth.  They  tarried  in  prayer  for  ten  days, 
simply  because  after  the  forty  days  of  the  Lord's 
sojourn  on  earth  subsequent  to  his  resurrection,  ten 
days  remained  of  the  "  seven  Sabbaths  "  period.^) 

To  sum  up  what  we  are  saying :  The  Spirit  of 
God  is  the  successor  of  the  Son  of  God  in  his  offi- 

1Lev.  23  :  1 1 -i  6. 


30  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

cial  ministry  on  earth.  Until  Christ's  earthly  work 
for  his  church  had  been  finished,  the  Spirit's  work 
in  this  world  could  not  properly  begin.  The  office 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  to  communicate  Christ  to  us 
— Christ  in.  his  entirencss.  However  perfectly  the 
photographer's  plate  has  been  prepared,  there  can 
be  no  picture  until  his  subject  steps  into  his  place 
and  stands  before  him.  Our  Saviour's  redemptive 
work  was  not  completed  when  he  died  on  the  cross, 
or  when  he  rose  from  the  dead,  or  even  when  he 
ascended  from  the  brow  of  Olivet.  Not  until  he 
sat  down  in  his  Father's  throne,  summing  up  all  his 
ministry  in  himself, — "  I  am  he  that  liveth  and  was 
dead,  and  behold  I  am  alive  forevermore," — did  the 
full  Christ  stand  ready  to  be  communicated  to  his 
church.1  By  the  first  Adam's  sin,  God's  communion 
with  man  through  the  Holy  Ghost  was  broken,  and 
their  union  ruptured.  When  the  second  Adam 
came  up  from  his  cross  and  resurrection,  and  took 
his  place  at  God's  right  hand,  there  was  a  restora- 
tion of  this  broken  fellowship.  Very  beautiful  are 

i "  Christ  having  reached  his  goal,  and  not  till  then,  bequeathes 
to  his  followers  the  graces  that  invested  his  earthly  course;  the 
ascending  Elijah  leaves  his  mantle  behind  him.  It  is  only  an  exten- 
sion of  the  same  principle,  that  the  declared  office  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
being  to  complete  the  image  of  Christ  in  every  faithful  follower  by  ef- 
fecting in  this  world  a  spiritual  death  and  resurrection, — a  point 
attested  in  every  epistle, — the  image  could  not  be  stamped  until  the 
reality  had  been  wholly  accomplished ;  the  Divine  Artist  could  not 
fitly  descend  to  make  the  copy  before  the  entire  original  had  been  pro- 
vided."—Archer  Butler. 


THE  ADVENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  31 

the  words  of  our  risen  Lord  as  bearing  on  this 
point :  "  I  ascend  to  my  Father  and  your  Father,  to 
my  God  and  your  God."  l  The  place  which  the 
divine  Son  had  won  for  himself  in  the  Father's 
heart,  he  had  won  for  us  also.  All  of  acceptance 
and  standing  and  privilege  which  was  now  his,  was 
ours  too,  by  redemptive  right ;  and  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  sent  down  to  confirm  and  realize  to  us  what  he 
had  won  for  us.  Without  the  expiatory  work  of 
Christ  for  us,  the  sanctifying  work  of  the  Spirit  in 
us  were  impossible  ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  without 
the  work  of  the  Spirit  within  us,  the  work  of  Christ 
for  us  were  without  avail. 

"  And  when  the  day  of  Pentecost  was  fully  come" 
What  these  words  mean  historically,  typically,  and 
doctrinally,  we  are  now  prepared  to  see.  The  true 
wave  sheaf  had  been  presented  in  the  temple  on 
high.  Christ  the  first-fruits,  brought  from  the  grave 
on  "the  morrow  after  the  Sabbath,"  or  the  first  day 
of  the  week,  now  stands  before  God  accepted  on 
our  behalf  ;  the  seven  Sabbaths  from  the  resurrec- 
tion day  have  been  counted,  and  Pentecost  has 
come.  Then  suddenly,  to  those  who  we>e  "  all  of 
one  accord  in  one  place,"  "there  came  a  sound  from 
heaven  as  of  a  rushing  mighty  wind,  and  it  filled  all 

i  John  20 : 1 7.  "  Because  though  he  and  the  Father  are  one,  and  the 
Father  his  Father  by  the  propriety  of  nature,  to  us  God  became  a 
Father  through  the  Son,  not  by  right  of  nature,  but  by  grace." — Am- 
brose, 


32  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

the  house  where  they  were  sitting,  and  there  ap- 
peared unto  them  cloven  tongues,  like  as  of  fire,  and 
sat  upon  each  of  them,  and  they  were  all  filled  with 
the  Holy  Ghost."  As  the  manger  of  Bethlehem 
was  the  cradle  of  the.  Son  of  God,  so  was  the 
upper  room  the  cradle  of  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  as 
the  advent  of  "  the  Holy  Child  "  was  a  testimony 
that  God  had  "visited  and  redeemed  his  people," 
so  was  the  coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  fact 
that  the  Comforter  is  here,  is  proof  that  the  Advo- 
cate is  there  in  the  presence  of  the  Father.  Boldly 
Peter  and  the  other  apostles  now  confront  the  rulers 
with  their  testimony,  "  Whom  ye  slew  and  hanged 
on  a  tree  .  .  .  Him  hath  God  exalted  with  his 
right  hand  to  be  a  prince  and  a  Saviour,  to  give  re- 
pentance to  Israel  and  forgiveness  of  sins ;  and  we 
are  his  witnesses  of  these  things ;  and  so  also  is  the 
Holy  Ghost,  whom  God  hath  given  to  them  that  obey 
him''  As  the  sound  of  the  golden  bells  upon  the 
high  priest's  garments  within  the  Holiest  gave  evi- 
dence that  he  was  alive,  so  the  sound  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  proceeding  from  heaven  and  heard  in  that 
upper  chamber,  was  an  incontestable  witness  that 
the  great  High  Priest  whom  they  had  just  seen 
passing  through  the  cloud-curtain,  entering  within 
the  veil,  was  still  living  for  them  in  the  presence  of 
the  Father.  Thus  has  the  "  dies  natalis"  the  birth- 
Jay  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  come ;  and  the  events  of  his 
earthly  mission  will  now  be  considered  in  their  order. 


Ill 

THE  NAMING  OF  THE  SPIRIT 


"  The  name  Paraclete  is  applied  to  Christ  as  well  as  to 
the  Spirit ;  and  properly  :  For  it  is  the  common  office  of 
each  to  console  and  encourage  us  and  to  preserve  us  by 
their  defense.  Christ  was  their  [the  disciples']  patron  so 
long  as  he  lived  in  the  world  ;  he  then  committed  them  to 
the  guidance  and  protection  of  the  Spirit.  If  any  one  asks 
us  whether  we  are  not  under  the  guidance  of  Christ,  the 
answer  is  easy  :  Christ  is  a  perpetual  guardian,  but  not  visi- 
bly. As  long  as  he  walked  on  the  earth  he  appeared 
openly  as  their  guardian  :  now  he  preserves  us  by  his  Spirit. 
He  calls  the  Spirit  '  another  Comforter, '  in  view  of  the  dis- 
tinction which  we  observe  in  the  blessings  proceeding  from 
each." — John  Calvin. 


Ill 

THE    NAMING    OF     THE    SPIRIT 

'"THE  Son  of  God  was  named  by  the  angel  before 
J-  he  was  conceived  in  the  womb  :  "  Thou  shalt 
call  his  name  Jesus,  for  he  shall  save  his  people 
from  their  sins."  Thus  he  came,  not  to  receive  a 
name,  but  to  fulfill  a  name  already  predetermined 
for  him.  In  like  manner  was  the  Holy  Ghost 
named  by  our  Lord  before  his  advent  into  the 
world :  "  But  when  the  Paraclete  is  come,  whom  I 
will  send  unto  you  from  the  Father "  (John  1 5  : 
26).  This  designation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  here 
occurs  for  the  first  time — a  new  name  for  the 
new  ministry  upon  which  he  is  now  about  to  enter. 
The  reader  will  find  in  almost  any  critical  commen- 
tary discussions  of  the  meaning  of  the  word,  and 
of  the  question  of  its  right  translation,  whether  by 
"Comforter,"  or  "Advocate,"  or  "Teacher,"  or 
"  Helper."  But  the  question  cannot  be  fully  set- 
tled by  an  appeal  to  classical  or  patristic  Greek, 
for  the  reason,  we  believe,  that  it  is  a  divinely 
given  name  whose  real  significance  must  be  made 
manifest  in  the  actual  life  and  history  of  the  Spirit. 
The  name  is  the  person  himself,  and  only  as  we 
know  the  person  can  we  interpret  his  name.  Why 

35 


36  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

attempt  then  to  translate  this  word  any  more  than 
we  do  the  name  of  Jesus  ?  We  might  well  trans- 
fer it  into  our  English  version,  leaving  the  history 
of  the  church  from  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  to  the 
experience  of  the  latest  saint  to  fill  into  it  the 
great  significance  which  it  was  intended  to  contain. 
Certain  it  is  that  the  language  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
can  never  be  fully  understood  by  an  appeal  to  the 
lexicon.  The  heart  of  the  church  is  the  best  dic- 
tionary of  the  Spirit.  While  all  the  before-men- 
tioned synonyms  are  correct,  neither  one  is  adequate, 
nor  are  all  together  sufficient  to  bring  out  the  full 
significance  of  this  great  name,  "  The  Paraclete." 

Let  us  consider,  however,  how  much  is  suggested 
by  the  literal  meaning  of  this  word,  "the  Para- 
cletos"  and  by  all  that  our  Lord  says  c'oncerning 
him  in  his  last  discourse.  "  To  call  to  one's  aid," 
is  the  meaning  of  the  verb,  napaxattut,  from  which 
the  name  is  derived.  Very  beautiful  therefore  is 
the  word  in  its  application  to  the  disciples  of  Christ 
at  the  time  when  the  Spirit  was  given.  They  had 
lost  the  visible  presence  of  their  Lord.  The  sor- 
row of  his  removal  from  them  through  the  cross 
and  the  sepulchre  had  after  three  days  been  turned 
into  joy  by  his  resurrection.  But  now  another 
separation  had  come,  in  his  departure  to  the  Father 
after  the  cloud  had  received  him  out  of  sight.  In  this 
last  and  longer  bereavement,  what  should  they  do  ? 
Their  beloved  Master  had  told  them  beforehand 


THE  NAMING  OF  THE  SPIRIT  37 

what  to  do.  They  were  to  call  upon  the  Father  to 
send  them  One  to  fill  the  vacant  place,  and  he  who 
should  be  sent  would  be  the  "  Paraclete,"  the  "  one 
called  to  their  help." * 

But  what  deep  questionings  must  have  arisen  in 
their  hearts  as  they  heard  the  Saviour's  promise  : 
"  If  I  go  not  away  the  Paraclete  will  not  come  unto 
you ;  but  if  I  depart  I  will  send  him  unto  you." 
Did  they  begin  to  ask  whether  the  mysterious 
comer  would  be  a  "  person "  ?  Impossible  to 
imagine.  For  he  was  to  take  the  place  of  that 
greatest  of  persons ;  to  do  for  them  even  greater 
things  than  he  had  done ;  and  to  lead  them  into 
even  larger  knowledge  than  he  had  imparted. 
The  discussion  of  the  personality  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  so  unnatural  in  the  light  of  Christ's 
last  discourse  that  we  studiously  avoid  it.  Let  us 
treat  the  question,  therefore,  from  the  point  of  view 
of  Christ's  own  words,  and  try  to  put  ourselves 
under  the  impression  which  they  make  upon  us. 
To  state  the  matter  as  simply  and  familiarly  as  pos- 
sible :  Jesus  is  about  to  vacate  his  office  on  earth  as 
teacher  and  prophet ;  but  before  doing  so  he  would 
introduce  us  to  his  successor.  As  in  a  complex 
problem  we  seek  to  determine  an  unknown  quantity 
by  the  known,  so  in  this  paschal  discourse  Jesus 

1  The  word  -irapaK^rtap  is  used  in  the  Septuagint  (Job  16 :  2)  with 
the  meaning  of  "  Comforter] '  and  the  term  jrapaKATjro?  occurs  in  the 
Talmud,  signifying  "Interpreter" 

D 


38  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

aims  to  make  us  acquainted  with  the  mysterious, 
invisible  coming  personage  whom  he  names  the 
"  Paraclete "  by  comparing  him  with  himself,  the 
known  and  the  visible  one.  Collating  his  compari- 
sons we  may  find  in  them  several  groups  of  seem- 
ing contradictions,  and  just  such  contradictions  as 
we  should  expect  if  this  comer  is  indeed  a  person 
of  the  Godhead.  Of  the  coming  Paraclete  then 
we  find  these  intimations.1 

i.  He  is  another,  yet  the  same  :  "  And  I  will  pray 
the  Father  and  he  shall  give  you  another  Com- 
forter" (John  14  :  1 6).  By  the  use  of  this  expres- 
sion "  another  "  our  Lord  distinguishes  the  Para- 
clete from  himself,  but  he  also  puts  him  on  the 
same  plane  with  himself.  For  there  is  no  parity 
or  even  comparison  between  a  person  and  an  influ- 
ence. If  the  promised  visitor  were  to  be  only  an 
impersonal  emanation  from  God,  it  would  seem  im- 
possible that  our  Lord  should  have  so  co-ordinated 
him  with  himself  as  to  say :  "  I  go  to  be  an  Advo- 
cate for  you  in  heaven  (i  John  2:1),  and  I  send 
another  to  be  an  Advocate  for  you  on  earth." 

1  The  most  obvious  reason  for  concluding  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  a 
person  is  that  he  performs  actions  and  stands  in  relations  which  l^long 
only  to  a  person,  e.  g. :  He  speaks  (Acts  I  :  1 6) ;  he  works  mira- 
cles (Acts  2  :  4 ;  8  :  39) ;  he  sets  ministers  over  churches  (Acts  20 : 
28) ;  he  commands  and  forbids  (Acts  8:  29;  H:l2;l3:2;i6: 
6,  7)  ;  he  prays  for  us  (Rom.  8  :  26) ;  he  witnesses  (Rom.  8  :  1 6) ; 
he  can  be  grieved  (Eph.  4  :  30) ;  he  can  be  blasphemed  (Mark  3  : 
29)  ;  he  can  be  resisted  (Acts  7  :  51,  etc). 


THE  NAMING  OF  THE  SPIRIT  39 

But  if  Christ  thus  distinguishes  the  Comforter 
from  himself,  he  also  identifies  him  with  himself : 
"  I  will  not  leave  you  orphans  :  /  will  come  to  you  " 
(John  14  :  1 8).  By  common  consent  this  promise 
refers  to  the  advent  of  the  Spirit,  for  so  the  con- 
nection plainly  indicates.  And  yet  almost  in  the 
same  breath  he  says  :  "  The  Comforter  whom  I  will 
send  unto  you  "  (John  14  :  26).  Thus  our  Lord 
makes  the  same  event  to  be  at  once  his  coming  and 
his  sending  ;  and  he  speaks  of  the  Spirit  now  as 
his  own  presence,  and  now  as  his  substitute  during 
his  absence.  So  what  must  we  conclude  but  that 
the  Paraclete  is  Christ's  other  self,  a  third  Person 
in  that  blessed  Trinity  of  which  he  is  the  second. 

2.  The  Paraclete  is  subordinate  yet  superior  in 
his  ministry  to  the  church.  "  For  he  shall  not 
speak  of  himself ;  but  whatsoever  he  shall  hear  that 
shall  he  speak  He  shall  glorify  me ;  for  he  shall  re- 
ceive of  mine  and  show  it  unto  you  "  (John  16  :  13). 

Well  may  we  mark  the  holy  deference  between 
the  persons  of  the  Trinity  which  is  here  pointed 
out.  Each  receives  from  another  what  he  com- 
municates, and  each  magnifies  another  in  his 
praises.  As  Bengel  concisely  states  it :  "  The  Son 
glorifies  the  Father ;  the  Spirit  glorifies  the  Son." 
What  then  is  the  office  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  so  far 
as  we  can  interpret  it,  but  that  of  communicating 
and  applying  the  work  of  Christ  to  human  hearts  ? 
If  he  convinces  of  sin  it  is  by  exhibiting  the 


4O  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

gracious  redemptive  work  of  the  Saviour  and  show- 
ing men  their  guilt  in  not  believing  on  him.  If  he 
witnesses  to  the  penitent  of  his  acceptance  it  is  by 
testifying  of  the  atoning  blood  of  Jesus  in  which 
that  acceptance  is  grounded ;  if  he  regenerates  and 
sanctifies  the  heart  it  is  by  communicating  to  it  the 
life  of  the  risen  Lord.  Christ  is  "  all "  in  himself, 
and  through  the  Spirit  "  in  all "  those  whom  the 
Spirit  renews.  This  reverent  subjection  of  the 
earthly  Comforter  to  the  heavenly  Christ  contains 
a  deep  lesson  for  those  who  are  indwelt  by  the 
Spirit '  and  makes  them  rejoice  evermore  to  be 
witnesses  rather  than  originators. 

With  this  subordination  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
C  hrist,  how  is  it  yet  true  that  such  a  great  advan- 
tage was  to  accrue  to  the  church  by  the  departure 
of  the  Saviour  and  the  consequent  advent  of  the 
Spirit  to  take  his  place  ?  That  it  would  be  so  is  what 
is  plainly  affirmed  in  the  following  text :  "  Neverthe- 
less I  tell  you  the  truth.  It  is  expedient  for  you 
that  I  go  away :  for  if  I  go  not  away  the  Comforter 
will  not  come  unto  you ;  but  if  I  depart  I  will  send 
him  unto  you  "  (John  16:7).  If  the  Spirit  is  simply 
the  measure  of  the  Son,  his  sole  work  being  to  com- 
municate the  work  of  the  Son,  what  gain  could 
there  be  in  the  departure  of  the  one  in  order  to 

1  If  the  Holy  Spirit  may  not  speak  of  himself  as  preacher,  how 
canst  thou  draw  thy  preaching  out  of  thyself— out  of  thine  head  of 
even  out  of  thine  heart. — Pastor  Gossncr. 


THE  NAMING  OF  THE  SPIRIT  41 

the  coming  of  the  other  ?  Would  it  not  be  simply 
the  exchange  of  Christ  for  Christ  ? — his  visible 
presence  for  his  invisible  ? 

To  us  the  answer  of  this  question  is  most  ob- 
vious. It  was  not  the  earthly  Christ  whom  the 
Holy  Ghost  was  to  communicate  to  the  church,  but 
the  heavenly  Christ, — the  Christ  re-invested  with 
his  eternal  power,  re-clothed  with  the  glory  which 
he  had  with  the  Father  before  the  world  was,  and 
re-endowed  with  the  infinite  treasures  of  grace 
which  he  had  purchased  by  his  death  on  the  cross. 
It  is  as  though — to  use  a  very  inadequate  illustra- 
tion— a  beloved  father  were  to  say  to  his  family : 
"  My  children,  I  have  provided  well  for  your  needs  ; 
but  your  condition  is  one  of  poverty  compared  with 
what  it  may  become.  By  the  death  of  a  kinsman 
in  my  native  country  I  have  become  heir  to  an  im- 
mense estate.  If  you  will  only  submit  cheerfully 
to  my  leaving  you  and  crossing  the  sea,  and  enter- 
ing into  my  inheritance,  I  will  send  you  back  a 
thousand  times  more  than  you  could  have  by  my 
remaining  with  you."  Only  in  the  instance  -ve  are 
considering,  Christ  is  the  "  testator  "  as  well  as  the 
heir.  By  his  death  the  inheritance  becomes  avail- 
able, and  when  he  had  ascended  into  heaven  he 
sent  down  the  Holy  Spirit  to  distribute  the  estate 
among  those  who  were  joint  heirs  with  him. 
What  this  estate  is,  may  be  best  summarized  in  two 
beautiful  expressions  of  frequent  recurrence  in  the 


42  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

epistles  of  Paul,  "  The  riches  of  his  grace  "  (Eph.  i  : 
7),  and  "  The  riches  of  his  glory  "  (Eph.  3:16).  On 
the  cross  "  the  riches  of  his  grace  "  was  secured  to 
us  in  the  forgiveness  of  sins ;  on  the  throne  "  the 
riches  of  his  glory"  was  secured  to  us  in  our  being 
strengthened  with  all  might  by  his  Spirit  in  the 
inner  man ;  in  the  indwelling  of  Christ  in  our 
hearts  by  faith,  and  in  our  infilling  with  all  the  full- 
ness of  God.  The  divine  wealth  only  becomes 
completely  available  on  the  death,  resurrection,  and 
ascension  of  our  Lord  ;  so  that  the  Holy  Spirit,  the 
divine  Conveyancer,  had  not  the  full  inheritance  to 
convey  till  Jesus  was  glorified. 

Observe  therefore,  in  the  valedictory  discourse 
of  our  Lord,  the  frequent  recurrence  of  the  words  : 
" Because  I  go  to  the  Father"  one  of  the  sayings 
which  greatly  perplexed  his  disciples.  In  the  light 
of  all  which  Jesus  says  in  this  connection,  let  us 
see  if  its  meaning  may  not  be  clear  to  us.  "  If  ye 
loved  me  ye  would  rejoice  because  I  go  unto  the 
Father ;  for  the  Father  is  greater  than  I "  (John 
14  :  28),  he  says  in  the  same  connection.  We  can- 
not here  enter  into  the  deep  question  of  the  kenosis^ 
or  self-emptying  of  the  Son  of  God  in  his  incarna- 
tion. It  is  enough  that  we  follow  the  plain  teach- 
ing of  the  Scripture,  that  though  "being  in  the 
form  of  God,  he  counted  it  not  a  thing  to  be 
grasped  to  be  on  an  equality  with  God ;  but  emptied 
himself,  taking  the  form  of  a  servant"  (Phil.  2  : 


THE  NAMING  OF  THE  SPIRIT  43 

6,  /,  R.  V.).  What  now  does  his  going  to  the 
Father  signify  but  a  refilling  with  that  of  which  he 
had  been  emptied,  or  a  resumption  of  his  co-equal- 
ity with  God  ?  The  greater  blessing  which  he 
could  confer  upon  his  church  by  his  departure 
seems  to  lie  in  the  fact  of  the  greater  power  and 
glory  into  which  he  would  enter  by  his  enthrone- 
ment at  God's  right  hand  As  Luther  pointedly  puts 
it :  "  Therefore  do  I  go,  he  saith,  where  I  shall  be 
greater  than  I  now  am,  that  is,  to  the  Father,  and 
it  is  better  that  I  shall  pass  out  of  this  obscurity 
and  weakness  into  the  power  and  glory  in  which 
the  Father  is."  In  the  light  of  this  interpretation 
the  meaning  of  our  Lord's  words  above  quoted 
does  not  seem  difficult.  The  Paraclete  was  to  com- 
municate Christ  to  his  church, — his  life,  his  power, 
his  riches,  his  glory.  In  his  exaltation  all  these 
were  to  be  very  greatly  increased.  "All  things 
that  the  Father  hath  are  mine"  (John  16  :  15),  he 
says.  And  though  he  had  for  a  time  voluntarily 
disinherited  himself  of  his  heavenly  possessions,  he 
is  now  to  be  repossessed  of  them.  "  Therefore  said  I, 
that  he  shall  take  of  mine  and  shall  show  it  unto 
you"  (16  :  15).  Christ  at  God's  right  hand  will 
have  more  to  give  than  while  on  earth ;  therefore 
the  church  will  have  more  to  receive  through  the 
Paraclete  than  through  the  visible  Christ.  What 
obvious  significance  then  do  the  following  sayings 
from  this  farewell  sermon  of  Jesus  have :  "  Verily 


44  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

verily,  I  say  unto  you,  He  that  believeth  on  me  the 
works  that  I  do  shall  he  do  also  ;  greater  works  than 
these  shall  he  do  ;  because  I  go  unto  the  Father"  (John 
14  :  12).  The  earthly  Christ  is  equal  only  to  himself 
thus  conditioned ;  and  if  the  Holy  Spirit  shall  com- 
municate his  power  to  his  disciples,  they  will  do  the 
same  works  that  he  does.  But  the  heavenly  Christ 
is  co-equal  with  the  Father,  therefore  when  he  shall 
ascend  to  the  Father,  and  the  Spirit  shall  take  of 
his  and  communicate  to  his  church,  it  will  do 
greater  works  than  these.  The  stream  of  life,  in 
other  words,  will  have  greater  power  because  of  the 
higher  source  from  which  it  proceeds.  Very  deep 
are  the  mysteries  here  considered,  and  we  can  only 
speak  of  them  in  the  light  which  we  get  by  compar- 
ing Scripture  with  Scripture.  Did  the  risen  Christ 
breathe  on  his  disciples  and  say  to  them  :  "  Receive 
ye  the  Holy  Ghost  "  ? x  "It  is  enough,  Lord,  that  we 
have  received  the  Spirit  from  thee,"  they  might 
well  have  said.  Yet  it  was  not  enough  for  him  to 
give ;  for  looking  on  to  the  day  of  his  enthrone- 
ment, he  says  :  "  But  when  the  Paraclete  is  come, 
whom  I  will  send  unto  you  from  the  Father,  even 
the  Spirit  of  truth  which  proceedeth  from  the 
Father,  he  shall  testify  of  me "  (John  1 5  :  26). 
When  Jesus  hath  ascended  "  on  high,"  then  can  the 

1  Let  it  be  observed  that  in  this  communication  of  the  risen  Christ 
it  is  not  said,  "  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost" — the  article  being  sig- 
nificantly omitted — Aa/J«r«  n^G^o  Sytov  (John  20  :  22). 


THE  NAMING  OF  THE  SPIRIT  45 

Holy  Ghost  communicate  "the  power  from  on 
high."  Therefore  it  is  expedient  that  he  go  away. 
As  with  the  power  which  Christ  was  to  impart 
to  his  church  through  the  Paraclete,  so  with  the 
righteousness  which  he  was  both  to  impute  and  to 
impart ;  its  highest  source  must  be  found  in  heaven  : 
"  And  when  he,  the  Comforter,  is  come,  he  will  con- 
vince the  world  of  righteousness  ;  ...  of  righteous- 
ness because  I  go  to  my  father,  and  ye  see  me  no 
more  "  (John  16  :  8-10).  We  may  say  truly  that  the 
righteousness  of  Christ  was  not  completely  finished 
and  authenticated  till  he  sat  down  at  the  right  hand 
of  the  majesty  on  high.  By  his  death  he  perfectly 
satisfied  the  claims  of  a  violated  law,  but  this  fact 
was  not  attested  until  the  grave  gave  back  the  cer- 
tificate of  discharge  in  his  released  and  risen  body. 
By  his  resurrection  he  was  "  declared  to  be  the  Son 
of  God  in  power,  according  to  the  Spirit  of  holi- 
ness "  (Rom.  i  :  4).  But  the  fact  was  not  fully 
verified  till  God  had  "  set  him  at  his  own  right  hand 
in  the  heavenly  places,  far  above  all  principality,  and 
power,  and  might,  and  dominion,  and  every  name 
that  is  named"  (Eph.  i  :  20,  21).  Now  in  his  con- 
summated glory  he  is  prepared  to  be  "  made  wis- 
dom, and  righteousness,  and  sanctification,  and  re- 
demption "  to  his  people.  He  who  had  been 
"  manifest  in  the  flesh  "  that  he  might  be  made  sin 
for  us,  was  now  "justified  in  the  Spirit"  and  "re- 
ceived up  into  glory,"  that  he  might  be  made 


46  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

righteousness  to  us,  and  that  "  we  might  be  made 
the  righteousness  of  God  in  him."  Christ's  cor- 
onation, in  a  word,  is  the  indispensable  condition  to 
our  justification.  Till  he  who  was  made  a  curse  for 
us  is  crowned  with  glory  and  honor  we  cannot  be 
assured  of  our  acceptance  with  the  Father. l  How 
deep  the  current  of  thought  which  flows  through 
this  narrow  channel — "  Because  I  go  to  the  Father." 
3.  The  Paraclete  teaches  only  the  things  of 
Christ ;  yet  teaches  more  than  Christ  taught :  "  I 
have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but  ye  can- 
not bear  them  now.  Howbeit  when  he  the  Spirit 
of  truth  is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into  all  the 
truth  "  (John  16  :  12,  13).  It  is  as  though  he  had 
said :  "  I  have  brought  you  a  little  way  in  the 
knowledge  of  my  doctrine ;  he  shall  bring  you  all 
the  way."  One  reason  for  this  saying  seems  plain  : 
The  teaching  of  Jesus  during  his  earthly  ministry 
waited  to  be  illumined  by  a  light  not  risen — the 
light  of  the  cross,  the  light  of  the  sepulchre,  the 
light  of  the  ascension.  Therefore  until  these 
events  had  come  to  pass,  Christian  doctrine  was 
undeveloped,  and  could  not  be  fully  communicated 
to  the  disciples  of  Christ.  But  this  is  not  all. 
The  "  because  I  go  to  the  Father  "  still  gives  the 
key  to  our  Lord's  meaning.  "  But  what  things  so- 

1  How  righteous  must  he  be,  who  will  go  to  the  Father  from  the 
cross  and  the  grave  !  Thus  will  the  Holy  Spirit  convince  the  world 
that  he  is  a  righteous  man,  and  truly  righteous  for  man. — Ruos. 


THE  NAMING  OF  THE  SPIRIT  47 

ever  he  shall  hear,  these  shall  he  speak,  and  he 
shall  declare  unto  you  things  to  come "  (John 
1 6  :  13,  R.  V.).  Very  wonderful  is  this  hint  of  the 
mutual  converse  of  the  Godhead,  so  that  the  Para- 
clete is  described  as  listening  while  he  leads,  as 
having  an  ear  in  heaven  attentive  to  the  converse 
of  the  Father  and  the  glorified  Son,  while  he  ex- 
tends an  unseen  guidance  to  the  flock  on  earth, 
communicating  to  them  what  he  has  heard  from 
the  Father  and  the  Son.  And  we  may  reverently 
ask,  Has  not  the  glorified  Christ  more  of  knowl- 
edge and  revelation  to  communicate  than  he  had  in 
the  days  of  his  humiliation  ?  Of  "  the  things  to 
come"  has  he  not  secrets  to  impart  which  hitherto 
may  have  been  hidden  in  the  counsels  of  the 
Father?  To  take  a  single  illustration  from  the 
words  of  Christ.  Speaking  of  his  second  advent, 
he  says  :  "  But  of  that  day  or  that  hour  knoweth  no 
one,  not  even  the  angels  in  heaven,  neither  the 
Son,  but  the  Father"  (Mark  13  :  32*).  It  is  best 
that  we  should  interpret  these  words  frankly,  and 
instead  of  saying,  with  some,  that  he  did  not  know 
in  the  sense  that  he  was  not  permitted  to  disclose, 
admit  it  possible  that  while  in  his  humiliation  and 
under  the  veil  of  his  incarnation,  this  secret  was 
hidden  from  his  eyes. 

But  is  it  not  presumptuous  for  us  to  reason,  that 

1 "  Neither  the  Son  "  :  "  It  is  more  than  neither ;  it  is  not  yet  the 
Son,"  says  Morrison  the  commentator. 


48  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

therefore  he  does  not  now  know  the  day  of  his 
coming  ?  How  constantly  is  that  text  quoted  as  a 
decisive  and  final  prohibition  of  all  inquiry  into  the 
proximate  time  of  our  Lord's  return  in  glory.  But 
they  who  so  use  this  saying  simply  remand  us  to  the 
childhood  of  the  church,  to  the  spiritual  nonage  of  the 
ante-Pentecostal  days.  Have  we  forgotten  that  since 
our  Lord  ascended  to  the  Father  he  has  given  us  a 
further  revelation,  that  wondrous  book  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse, which  opens  and  closes  with  a  beatitude  upon 
those  who  read  and  faithfully  keep  the  words  of  this 
prophecy  ?  And  one  characteristic  feature  of  this 
book  is  its  chronological  predictions  concerning  the 
time  of  the  end,  its  mystical  dates,  which  have  led 
many  sober  searchers  of  the  word  of  God  to  inquire 
diligently  "what  and  what  manner  of  time"  the 
Spirit  did  signify  in  giving  us  these  way-marks  in 
the  wilderness.  This  being  so,  we  may  ask  :  If  we 
are  not  irreverent  in  concluding  with  many  devout 
expositors  that  our  Saviour  meant  what  he  said  in 
declaring  that  he  did  "not  yet"  know  the  time  of 
his  advent,  are  we  presumptuous  in  taking  literally 
the  opening  words  of  the  Apocalypse  ? :  "  The 
R.evelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  God  gave  unto 
him,  to  show  unto  his  servants  the  things  which 
must  shortly  come  to  pass."  It  was  because  of 
his  going  unto  the  Father  that  greater  works  and 
greater  riches  were  to  attend  the  church  after 
Pentecost.  Why  may  we  not  assign  to  the  same 


THE   NAMING  OF  THE  SPIRIT  49 

cause  also  the  fuller  revelation  of  the  future  and  the 
leading  into  completer  truth  concerning  the  blessed 
hope  of  the  church?  In  other  words,  if  we  may 
think  of  Christ  as  entering  into  larger  revelation  as 
he  returns  to  the  glory  which  he  had  with  the 
Father  must  we  not  think  of  larger  communica- 
tions of  truth  by  the  blessed  Paraclete  ? 

Have  we  not  learned  something  of  the  nature 
and  offices  of  the  Spirit  by  this  study  of  his  new 
name,  and  of  all  that  the  departing  Lord  says 
in  the  wondrous  discourse  wherein  he  introduces 
him  to  his  disciples  ?  At  least  the  study  should 
enable  us  to  distinguish  two  inspired  terms  which 
have  been  needlessly  confounded  by  not  a  few 
writers,  viz.:  the  words  "Paraclete"  and  " Parou- 
sta."  The  latter  word,  which  constantly  occurs  in 
Scripture  as  describing  our  Lord's  second  coming, 
has  been  applied  in  several  learned  works  to  the 
advent  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  since  Christ  came 
in  the  person  of  the  Spirit,  it  has  been  argued  that 
the  Redeemer's  promised  advent  in  glory  has  al- 
ready taken  place.  But  this  is  to  confuse  terms 
whose  use  in  Scripture  marks  them  as  clearly  dis- 
tinct. Observe  their  difference  :  In  the  Paraclete, 
Christ  comes  spiritually  and  invisibly ;  in  the  Pa- 
rousia,  he  comes  bodily  and  gloriously.  The  advent 
of  the  Paraclete  is  really  conditioned  on  the  Saviour's 
personal  departure  from  his  people :  "  If  I  go  not  away 
the  Paraclete  will  not  come  to  you"  (John  16  :  7). 

E 


50  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

The  Parousia,  on  the  other  hand,  is  only  realized  in 
his  personal  return  to  his  people  :  "  For  what  is  our 
hope  or  joy  or  crown  of  rejoicing?  Are  not  even 
ye  in  the  presence  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  at  his 
comingl"  (i  Thess.  2  :  19.)  The  Paraclete  attends 
the  church  in  the  days  of  her  humiliation ;  the 
Parousia  introduces  the  church  into  the  day  of  her 
glory.  In  the  Paraclete,  Christ  came  to  dwell  with 
the  church  on  earth :  "  I  will  not  leave  you  orphans  ; 
I  will  come  to  you"  (John  14  :  18).  In  the  Pa- 
rousia, Christ  comes  to  take  the  church  to  dwell 
with  himself  in  glory :  "  I  will  come  again  and 
receive  you  unto  myself;  that  where  I  am  there 
ye  may  be  also"  (John  14  :  3).  Christ  prayed  on 
behalf  of  his  bereaved  church  for  the  coming  of 
this  Paraclete :  "  And  I  will  pray  the  Father  and  he 
shall  give  you  another  Paraclete."  The  Holy  Spirit 
now  prays  with  the  pilgrim-church  for  the  hasten- 
ing of  the  Parousia.  "And  the  Spirit  and  the 
bride  say,  Come"  (Rev.  22  :  17).  These  two  can 
only  be  understood  in  their  mutual  relations.  Christ, 
who  gave  the  new  name  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  can  best 
interpret  that  name  to  us  by  making  us  acquainted 
with  himself.  May  that  name  be  for  us  so  real  a 
symbol  of  personal  presence  that  while  strangers 
and  pilgrims  in  the  earth  we  may  walk  evermore 
"in  the paraclesi s  of  the  Holy  Ghost"  (Acts  9:31). 


IV 

THE    EMBODYING    OF    THE    SPIRIT 


"  But  now  the  Holy  Ghost  is  given  more  perfectly,  for  he  is 
no  longer  present  by  his  operation  as  of  old,  but  is  present 
with  us  so  to  speak,  and  converses  with  us  in  a  substantial 
manner.  For  it  was  fitting  that,  as  the  Son  had  conversed 
with  us  in  the  body,  the  spirit  should  also  come  among  us 
in  a  bodily  manner." — Gregory  Nazianzen. 


IV 

THE    EMBODYING    OF    THE    SPIRIT 

church,  which  is  his  body,"  began  its  his- 
tory  and  development  at  Pentecost.  Be- 
lievers had  been  saved,  and  the  influences  of  the 
Spirit  had  been  manifested  to  men  in  all  previous 
dispensations  from  Adam  to  Christ.  But  now  an 
ecclesia,  an  outgathering,  was  to  be  made  to  con- 
stitute the  mystical  body  of  Christ,  incorporated 
into  him  the  Head  and  indwelt  by  him  through  the 
Holy  Ghost.  The  definition  which  we  sometimes 
hear,  that  a  church  is  "  a  voluntary  association  of 
believers,  united  together  for  the  purposes  of  wor- 
ship and  edification  "  is  most  inadequate,  not  to  say 
incorrect.  It  is  no  more  true  than  that  hands  and 
feet  and  eyes  and  ears  are  voluntarily  united  in  the 
human  body  for  the  purposes  of  locomotion  and 
work.  The  church  is  formed  from  within  ;  Christ 
present  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  regenerating  men  by 
the  sovereign  action  of  the  Spirit,  and  organizing 
them  into  himself  as  the  living  center.  The  Head 
and  the  body  are  therefore  one,  and  predestined  to 
the  same  history  of  humiliation  and  glory.  And  as 
they  are  one  in  fact,  so  are  they  one  in  name.  He 
whom  God  anointed  and  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost 

S3 


54  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

is  called  "the  Christ,"  and  the  church,  which  is  his 
body  and  fullness,  is  also  called  "  the  Christ."  "  For 
as  the  body  is  one,  and  hath  many  members,  and 
all  the  members  of  that  one  body,  being  many,  are 
one  body,  so  also  is  the  Christ"  (i  Cor.  12  :  12). 
Here  plainly  and  with  wondrous  honor  the  church 
is  named  <J  Xpiaros,  commenting  upon  which  fact 
Bishop  Andrews  beautifully  says  :  "  Christ  is  both 
in  heaven  and  on  earth  ;  as  he  is  called  the  Head 
of  his  church,  he  is  in  heaven ;  but  in  respect  of  his 
body  which  is  called  Christ,  he  is  on  earth." 

So  soon  as  the  Holy  Ghost  was  sent  down  from 
heaven  this  great  work  of  his  embodying  began,  and 
it  is  to  continue  until  the  number  of  the  elect  shall 
be  accomplished,  or  unto  the  end  of  the  present 
dispensation.  Christ,  if  we  may  say  it  reverently, 
became  mystically  a  babe  again  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost, and  the  hundred  and  twenty  were  his  infantile 
body,  as  once  more  through  the  Holy  Ghost  he  in- 
carnated himself  in  his  flesh.  Now  he  is  growing 
and  increasing  in  his  members,  and  so  will  he  con- 
tinue to  do  "  till  we  all  come  in  the  unity  of  the 
faith  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God  unto 
a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of 
fullness  of  Christ."  Then  the  Christ  on  earth  will 
be  taken  up  into  visible  union  with  the  Christ  in 
heaven,  and  the  Head  and  the  body  be  glorified  to- 
gether. Observe  how  the  history  of  the  church's 
formation,  as  recorded  in  the  Acts,  harmonizes  with 


THE  EMBODYING  OF  THE  SPIRIT  55 

the  conception  given  above.  The  story  of  Pente- 
cost culminates  in  the  words,  "  and  the  same  day 
there  were  added  about  three  thousand  souls" 
(Acts  2  :  41).  Added  to  whom  ?  we  naturally  ask. 
And  the  King  James  translators  have  answered  our 
question  by  inserting  in  italics  "  to  them."  But 
not  so  speaks  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  when,  a  few 
verses  further  on  in  the  same  chapter,  we  read : 
"  And  the  Lord  added  to  the  church  daily  such  as 
should  be  saved,"  we  need  to  be  reminded  that  the 
words  "to  the  church"  are  spurious.  All  such 
glosses  and  interpolations  have  only  tended  to  mar 
the  sublime  teaching  of  this  first  chapter  of  the 
Holy  Spirit's  history.  "And  believers  were  the 
more  added  to  the  Lord"  (Acts  5  :  14.)  "And 
much  people  were  added  unto  the  Lord"  (Acts 
1 1  :  24.)  This  is  the  language  of  inspiration — Not 
the  mutual  union  of  believers,  but  their  divine  co- 
uniting  with  Christ ;  not  voluntary  association  of 
Christians,  but  their  sovereign  incorporation  into 
the  Head  and  this  incorporation  effected  by  the  Head 
through  the  Holy  Ghost. 

If  we  ask  concerning  the  way  of  admission  into  this 
divine  ecclesia,  the  teaching  of  Scripture  is  explicit : 
"  For  in  one  Spirit  were  we  all  baptized  into  one 
body  "  (i  Cor.  12  : 13).  The  baptism  in  water  marks 
the  formal  introduction  of  the  believer  into  the 
church  ;  but  this  is  the  symbol,  not  the  substance. 
For  observe  the  identity  of  form  between  the  ritual 


56  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

and  the  spiritual.  "  I  indeed  baptize  you  in  water," 
.  .  said  John,  "  but  he  that  cometh  after  me  .  .  . 
shall  baptize  you  in  the  Holy  Ghost  and  in  fire " 
(Matt.  3:11).  As  in  the  one  instance  the  disciple 
was  submerged  in  the  element  of  water,  so  in  the 
other  he  was  to  be  submerged  in  the  element  of  the 
Spirit.  And  thus  it  was  in  actual  historic  fact.  The 
upper  room  became  the  Spirit's  baptistery,  if  we  may 
use  the  figure.  His  presence  "  filled  all  the  house 
where  they  were  sitting,"  and  "they  were  all  filled 
with  the  Holy  Ghost."  The  baptistery  would  never 
need  to  be  re-filled,  for  Pentecost  was  once  and  for 
all,  and  the  Spirit  then  came  to  abide  in  the  church 
perpetually.  But  each  believer  throughout  the  age 
would  need  to  be  infilled  with  that  Spirit  which 
dwells  in  the  body  of  Christ.  In  other  words,  it 
seems  clear  that  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit  was  given 
once  for  the  whole  church,  extending  from  Pente- 
cost to  Parousia.  "  There  is  one  Lord,  one  faith, 
one  baptism  "  (Eph.  4  :  5).  As  there  is  one  body 
reaching  through  the  entire  dispensation,  so  there  is 
"  one  baptism  "  for  that  body  given  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost.  Thus  if  we  rightly  understand  the  mean- 
ing of  Scripture  it  is  true,  both  as  to  time  and  as  to 
fact,  that  "  in  one  Spirit  we  were  all  baptized  into  one 
body,  whether  Jews  or  Greeks,  whether  bond  or  free." 
The  typical  foreshadowing,  as  seen  in  the  church 
in  the  wilderness,  is  very  suggestive  at  this  point : 
"  Moreover,  brethren,  I  would  not  that  ye  should  be 


THE  EMBODYING  OF  THE  SPIRIT  57 

ignorant,  how  that  all  our  fathers  were  under  the 
cloud  and  all  passed  through  the  sea ;  and  were  all 
baptized  unto  Moses  in  the  cloud  and  in  the  sea  " 
(i  Cor.  10  :  i).  Baptized  into  Moses  by  their  pas- 
sage through  the  sea,  identified  with  him  as  their 
leader,  and  committed  to  him  in  corporate  fellowship  ; 
even  so  were  they  also  baptized  into  Jehovah,  who  in 
the  cloud  of  glory  now  took  his  place  in  the  midst  of 
the  camp  and  tabernacled  henceforth  with  them. 
The  type  is  perfect  as  all  inspired  types  are.  The 
antitype  first  appears  in  Christ  our  Lord,  baptized 
in  water  at  the  Jordan,  and  then  baptized  in  the 
Holy  Ghost  which  "  descended  from  heaven  like  a 
dove  and  abode  upon  him."  Then  it  recurred  again 
in  the  waiting  disciples,  who  besides  the  baptism  of 
water,  which  had  doubtless  already  been  received, 
now  were  baptized  "  in  the  Holy  Ghost  and  in  fire." 
Henceforth  they  were  in  the  divine  element,  as 
their  fathers  had  been  in  the  wilderness,  "  not  in  the 
flesh  but  in  the  Spirit "  (Rom.  8:9);  called  "  to 
live  according  to  God  in  the  Spirit"  (i  Peter  4:6); 
to  "walk  in  the  Spirit"  (Gal.  5  :  25)  ;  "praying  al- 
ways with  all  prayer  and  supplication  in  the  Spirit " 
(Eph.  6  :  1 8).  In  a  word,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost 
the  entire  body  of  Christ  was  baptized  into  the  ele- 
ment and  presence  of  the  Holy  Ghost  as  a  perma- 
nent condition.  And  though  one  might  object  that 
the  body  as  a  whole  was  not  yet  in  existence,  we 
reply  that  neither  was  the  complete  church  in  ex- 


58  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

istence  when  Christ  died  on  Calvary,  yet  all  be- 
lievers are  repeatedly  said  to  have  died  with  him. 

To  change  the  figure  of  baptism  for  a  moment  to 
another  which  is  used  synonymously,  that  of  the 
anointing  of  the  Spirit,  we  have  in  Exodus  a  beauti- 
ful typical  illustration  of  our  thought.  At  Aaron's 
consecration  the  precious  ointment  was  not  only 
poured  upon  his  head,  but  ran  down  in  rich  profu- 
sion upon  his  body  and  upon  his  priestly  garments. 
This  fact  is  taken  up  by  the  psalmist  when  he  sings : 
"  Behold  how  good  and  pleasant  it  is  for  brethren  to 
dwell  together  in  unity.  It  is  like  the  precious 
ointment  upon  the  head  that  ran  down  upon  the 
beard,  even  Aaron's  beard,  that  went  down  to  the 
skirts  of  his  garments"  (Ps.  133  :  I,  2).  Of  our 
great  High  Priest  we  read :  "How  God  anointed 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with 
power"  (Acts  10  :  38).  But  it  was  not  for  himself 
alone  but  also  for  his  brethren  that  he  obtained  this 
holy  unction.  He  received  that  he  might  communi- 
cate. "  Upon  whom  thou  shalt  see  the  Spirit  descend- 
ing and  remaining  on  him,  the  same  is  he  that  bap- 
tizeth  in  the  Holy  Ghost  "  (John  i  :  33).  And  now 
we  behold  our  Aaron,  our  great  High  Priest,  who  has 
passed  through  the  heavens,  Jesus  the  Son  of  God, 
standing  in  the  holiest  in  heaven.  "Thou  didst 
love  righteousness  and  didst  hate  iniquity,"  is  the 
divine  encomium  now  passed  upon  him,  "therefore 
God,  thy  God,  anointed  thee  with  the  oil  of  gladness 


THE  EMBODYING  OF  THE  SPIRIT  59 

above  thy  fellows  "  (Heb.  I  :  9).  He,  the  Christos, 
the  Anointed,  stands  above  and  for  the  Christoi, 
his  anointed  brethren,  and  from  him  the  Head,  the 
unction  of  the  Holy  Ghost  descended  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost.  It  was  poured  in  rich  profusion  upon 
his  mystical  body.  It  has  been  flowing  down  ever 
since,  and  will  continue  to  do  so  till  the  last  mem- 
ber shall  have  been  incorporated  with  himself,  and 
so  anointed  by  the  one  Spirit  into  the  one  body, 
which  is  the  church. 

It  is  true  that  in  one  instance  subsequent  to 
Pentecost  the  baptism  in  the  Holy  Ghost  is  spoken 
of.  When  the  Spirit  fell  on  the  house  of  Corne- 
lius, Peter  is  reminded  of  the  word  of  the  Lord,  how 
that  he  said  :  "  John  indeed  baptized  in  water,  but  ye 
shall  be  baptized  in  the  Holy  Ghost  "  (Acts  1 1  : 16). 
This  was  a  great  crisis  in  the  history  of  the  church,  the 
opening  of  the  door  of  faith  to  the  Gentiles,  and  it 
would  seem  that  these  new  subjects  of  grace  now 
came  into  participation  of  an  already  present  Spirit. 
Yet  Pentecost  still  appears  to  have  been  the  age- 
baptism  of  the  church.  As  Calvary  was  once  for 
ail,  so  was  the  visitation  of  the  upper  room. 

Consider  now  that,  as  through  the  Holy  Ghost 
we  become  incorporated  into  the  body  of  Christ,  we 
are  in  the  same  way  assimilated  to  the  Head  of  that 
body,  which  is  Christ.  An  unsanctified  church 
dishonors  the  Lord,  especially  by  its  incongruity. 
A  noble  head,  lofty-browed  and  intellectual,  upon  a 


60  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

deformed  and  stunted  body,  is  a  pitiable  sight. 
What,  to  the  angels  and  principalities  who  gaze 
evermore  upon  the  face  of  Jesus,  must  be  the  sight 
of  an  unholy  and  misshapen  church  on  earth, 
standing  in  that  place  of  honor  called  "  his  body." 
Photographing  in  a  sentence  the  ecclesia  of  the 
earliest  centuries,  Professor  Harnack  says  :  "  Origi- 
nally the  church  was  the  heavenly  bride  of  Christ, 
and  the  abiding  place  of  the  Holy  Spirit"  Let  the 
reader  consider  how  much  is  involved  in  this  defini- 
tion. The  first  and  most  sacred  relation  of  the 
body  is  to  the  head.  Watching  for  the  return  of 
the  Bridegroom  induces  holiness  of  life  and  con- 
duct in  the  bride ;  and  the  supreme  work  of  the 
Spirit  is  directed  to  this  end,  that  "  He  may  estab- 
lish our  hearts  unblamable  in  holiness  before  God 
our  Father,  at  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
with  all  his  saints"  (i  Thess.  3  :  13).  In  accom- 
plishing this  end  he  effects  all  other  and  subordi- 
nate ends.  The  glorified  Christ  manifests  himself 
to  man  through  his  body.  If  there  is  a  perfect 
correspondence  between  himself  and  his  members, 
then  there  will  be  a  true  manifestation  of  himself 
to  the  world.1  Therefore  does  the  Spirit  abide  in 
the  body,  that  the  body  may  be  "  inChristed,"  to 

i "  The  Holy  Spirit  not  only  dwells  in  the  church  as  his  habitation, 
but  also  uses  her  as  the  living  organism  whereby  he  moves  and  walks 
forth  in  the  world,  and  speaks  to  the  world  and  acts  upon  the  world. 
He  is  the  soul  of  the  church  which  is  Christ's  body." — Bishop  Webbt 
TTie  Presence  and  Office  of  the  Spirit,  p.  47. 


THE   EMBODYING  OF  THE  SPIRIT  6l 

use  an  old  phrase  of  the  mystics ;  that  is,  indwelt 
by  Christ  and  transfigured  into  the  likeness  of 
Christ.  Only  thus,  as  "a  chosen  generation,  a 
royal  priesthood,  a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people," 
can  it  "shew  forth  the  virtues  of  him  who  has 
called  us  out  of  darkness  into  his  marvelous 
light."  And  who  is  the  Christ  that  is  thus  to  be 
manifested  ?  From  the  throne  he  gives  us  his 
name :  "  I  am  he  that  liveth  and  was  dead,  and 
behold  I  am  alive  for  evermore"  (Rev.  i  :  18). 
Christ  in  glory  is  not  simply  what  he  is,  but  what 
he  was  and  what  he  is  to  be.  As  a  tree  gathers 
up  into  itself  all  the  growths  of  former  years,  and 
contains  them  in  its  trunk,  so  Jesus  on  the  throne  is 
all  that  he  was  and  is  and  is  to  be.  In  other  words, 
his  death  is  a  perpetual  fact  as  well  as  his  life. 

And  his  church  is  predestined  to  be  like  him 
in  this  respect,  since  it  not  only  heads  up  in  him, 
as  saith  the  apostle,  that  ye  "  may  grow  up  into 
him  in  all  things  which  is  the  Head,  even  Christ," 
but  also  bodies  itself  forth  from  him,  "  from  whom 
the  whole  body,  fitly  joined  together  and  compacted 
by  that  which  every  joint  supplieth,  .  .  maketh 
increase  of  the  body "  .  .  (Eph.  4:16).  If  the 
church  will  literally  manifest  Christ,  then  she  must 
be  both  a  living  and  a  dying  church.  To  this  she 
is  committed  in  the  divinely  given  form  of  her  bap- 
tism. "  Know  ye  not  that  so  many  of  us  as  were 
baptized  into  Jesus  Christ  were  baptized  into  his 

F 


62  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

death ;  therefore  we  were  buried  with  him  by  bap- 
tism into  death,  that  like  as  Christ  was  raised  up 
from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father,  even  so 
we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life "  (Rom. 
6  :  3,  4).  And  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  into 
which  we  have  been  brought  is  designed  to  accom- 
plish inwardly  and  spiritually  what  the  baptism  of 
water  foreshadows  outwardly  and  typically,  viz.,  to 
reproduce  in  us  the  living  and  the  dying  of  our 
Lord. 

First,  the  living.  "  For  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of 
life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath  made  me  free  from  the 
law  of  sin  and  death  "  (Rom.  8  :  2).  That  is, 
that  which  has  been  hitherto  the  actuating  princi- 
ple within  us,  viz.,  sin  and  death,  is  now  to  be  met 
and  mastered  by  another  principle,  the  law  of  life, 
of  which  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  is  the  author  and 
sustainer.  As  by  our  natural  spirit  we  are  con- 
nected with  the  first  Adam,  and  made  partakers  of 
his  fallen  nature,  so  by  the  Holy  Spirit  we  are  now 
united  with  the  second  Adam,  and  made  partakers 
of  his  glorified  nature.  To  vivify  the  body  of 
Christ  by  maintaining  its  identity  with  the  risen 
Head  is,  in  a  word,  the  unceasing  work  of  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

Secondly,  the  dying  of  our  Lord  in  his  members 
is  to  be  constantly  effected  by  the  indwelling  Spirit. 
The  church,  which  is  the  fullness  of  him  that  fill- 
eth  all  in  all,"  completes  in  the  world  his  crucifix- 


THE   EMBODYING  OF  THE  SPIRIT  63 

ion  as  well  as  his  resurrection.  This  is  certainly 
Paul's  profound  thought,  when  he  speaks  of  fill- 
ing up  "that  which  is  behind  of  the  afflictions  of 
Christ  in  my  flesh,  for  his  body's  sake,  which  is 
the  church  "  (Col.  I  :  24).  In  other  words,  the 
church,  as  the  complement  of  her  Lord,  must  have 
a  life  experience  and  a  death  experience  running 
parallel. 

It  is  remarkable  how  exact  is  this  figure  of  the 
body,  which  is  employed  to  symbolize  the  church. 
In  the  human  system  life  and  death  are  constantly 
working  together.  A  certain  amount  of  tissue 
must  die  every  day  and  be  cast  out  and  buried,  and 
a  certain  amount  of  new  tissue  must  also  be  created 
and  nourished  daily  in  the  same  body.  Arrest  the 
death-process,  and  it  is  just  as  certain  to  produce 
disorder  as  though  you  were  to  arrest  the  life-pro- 
cess. Literally  is  this  true  of  the  corporate  body 
also.  The  church  must  die  daily  in  fulfillment  of 
the  crucified  life  of  her  Head,  as  well  as  live  daily 
in  the  manifestation  of  his  glorified  life.  This  itali- 
cised sentence,  which  we  take  from  a  recent  book, 
is  worthy  to  be  made  a  golden  text  for  Christians  : 
"  The  Church  is  Christian  no  more  than  as  it  is  tJie 
organ  of  the  'continuous  passion  of  Christ"  To 
sympathize,  in  the  literal  sense  of  suffering  with 
our  sinning  and  lost  humanity,  is  not  only  the  duty 
of  the  church,  but  the  absolutely  essential  condition 
to  her  true  manifestation  of  her  Lord.  A  self- 


64  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

indulgent  church  disfigures  Christ ;  an  avaricious 
church  bears  false  witness  against  Christ ;  a  worldly 
church  betrays  Christ,  and  gives  him  over  once 
more  to  be  mocked  and  reviled  by  his  enemies. 

The  resurrection  of  our  Lord  is  prolonged  in  his 
body,  as  we  all  see  plainly.  Every  regeneration  is 
a  pulse-beat  of  his  throne-life.  But  too  little  do 
we  recognize  the  fact  that  his  crucifixion  must  be 
prolonged  side  by  side  with  his  resurrection.  "  If 
any  man  will  come  after  me  let  him  deny  himself 
and  take  up  his  cross  daily  and  follow  me."  The 
church  is  called  to  live  a  glorified  life  in  communion 
with  her  Head,  and  a  crucified  life  in  her  contact 
with  the  world.  And  the  Holy  Spirit  dwells  ever- 
more  in  the  church  to  effect  this  twofold  manifesta- 
tion of  Christ.  "But  God  be  thanked,  that  ye 
have  obeyed  from  the  heart  that  pattern  of  doctrine 
to  which  ye  were  delivered,"  writes  the  apostle 
(Rom.  6:17).  The  pattern,  as  the  context  shows, 
is  Christ  dead  and  risen.  If  the  church  truly  lives 
in  the  Spirit,  he  will  keep  her  so  plastic  that  she 
will  obey  this  divine  mold  as  the  metal  conforms  to 
the  die  in  which  it  is  struck.  If  she  yields  to  the 
sway  of  "the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  chil- 
dren of  disobedience,"  she  will  be  stereotyped 
according  to  the  fashion  of  the  world,  and  they  that 
look  upon  her  will  fail  to  see  Christ  hi  her. 


V 

THE   ENDUEMENT    OF    THE    SPIRIT 


••  To  the  disciples,  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit  was  very  dis- 
tinctly not  his  first  bestowal  for  regeneration,  but  the  definite 
communication  of  his  presence  in  power  of  their  glorified 
Lord.  Just  as  there  was  a  two-fold  operation  of  the  one 
Spirit  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  of  which  the  state  of 
the  disciples  before  and  after  Pentecost  was  the  striking  illus- 
tration, so  there  may  be,  and  in  the  great  majority  of  Chris- 
tians is,  a  corresponding  difference  of  experience.  .  .  When 
once  the  distinct  recognition  of  what  the  indwelling  of  the 
Spirit  was  meant  to  bring  is  brought  home  to  the  soul,  and  it 
is  ready  to  give  up  all  to  be  made  partaker  of  it,  the  believer 
may  ask  and  expect  what  may  be  termed  a  baptism  of  the 
Spirit.  Praying  to  the  Father  in  accordance  to  the  two 
prayers  in  Ephesians,  and  coming  to  Jesus  in  the  renewed 
surrender  of  faith  and  obedience,  he  may  receive  such  an 
inflow  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  shall  consciously  lift  him  to  a 
different  level  from  the  one  on  which  he  has  hitherto  lived." 
— Rev.  Andrew  Murray. 


THE    ENDUEMENT    OF    THE    SPIRIT 

WE  have  maintained  in  the  previous  chapter  that 
the  baptism  in  the  Holy  Ghost  was  given 
once  for  all  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  when  the 
Paraclete  came  in  person  to  make  his  abode  in  the 
church.  It  does  not  follow  therefore  that  every  be- 
liever has  received  this  baptism.  God's  gift  is  one 
thing ;  our  appropriation  of  that  gift  is  quite  another 
thing.  Our  relation  to  the  second  and  to  the  third 
persons  of  the  Godhead  is  exactly  parallel  in  this 
respect.  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his 
only  begotten  Son"  (John  3  :  16).  "But  as  many 
as  received  him  to  them  gave  he  the  right  to  become 
the  children  of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe 
on  his  name"  (John  I  :  12).  Here  are  the  two 
sides  of  salvation,  the  divine  and  the  human,  which 
are  absolutely  co-essential. 

There  is  a  doctrine  somewhat  in  vogue,  not  inap- 
propriately denominated  redemption  by  incarnation, 
which  maintains  that  since  God  gave  his  Son  to  the 
world,  all  the  world  has  the  Son,  consciously  or  un- 
consciously, and  that  therefore  all  the  world  will  be 
saved.  It  need  not  be  said  that  a  true  evangelical 
teaching  must  reject  this  theory  as  utterly  unten- 

67 


68  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

able,  since  it  ignores  the  necessity  of  individual  faith 
in  Christ.  But  some  orthodox  writers  have  urged 
an  almost  identical  view  with  respect  to  the  Holy 
Ghost.  They  have  contended  that  the  enduement 
of  the  Spirit  is  "  not  any  special  or  more  advanced 
experience,  but  simply  the  condition  of  every  one 
who  is  a  child  of  God  "  ;  that  "believers  converted 
after  Pentecost,  and  living  in  other  localities,  are 
just  as  really  endowed  with  the  indwelling  Spirit  as 
those  who  actually  partook  of  the  Pentecostal  bless- 
ing at  Jerusalem."  * 

On  the  contrary,  it  seems  clear  from  the  Script- 
ures that  it  is  still  the  duty  and  privilege  of  believers 
to  receive  the  Holy  Spirit  by  a  conscious,  definite 
act  of  appropriating  faith,  just  as  they  received 
Jesus  Christ.  We  base  this  conclusion  on  several 
grounds.  Presumably  if  the  Paraclete  is  a  person, 
coming  down  at  a  certain  definite  time  to  make  his 
abode  in  the  church,  for  guiding,  teaching,  and 
sanctifying  the  body  of  Christ,  there  is  the  same 
reason  for  our  accepting  him  for  his  special  minis- 
try as  for  accepting  the  Lord  Jesus  for  his  special 
ministry.  To  say  that  in  receiving  Christ  we 
necessarily  received  in  the  same  act  the  gift  of 
the  Spirit,  seems  to  confound  what  the  Scriptures 
make  distinct.2  For  it  is  as  sinners  that  we  accept 

1  Rev.  E.  Boys,  "  Filled  with  the  Spirit,"  p.  87. 
1  It  is  assumed  by  some  that  because  those  that  walked  with  Christ 
of  old  received  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  fire  at  Pentecost, 


THE   ENDUEMENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  69 

Christ  for  our  justification,  but  it  is  as  sons  that 
we  accept  the  Spirit  for  our  sanctification  :  "And 
because  ye  are  sons,  God  hath  sent  forth  the  Spirit 
of  his  Son  into  your  hearts,  crying  Abba,  Father  " 
(Gal.  4  :  6).  Thus,  when  Peter  preached  his  first 
sermon  to  the  multitude  after  the  Spirit  had  been 
given,  he  said  :  "  Repent  and  be  baptized,  every  one 
of  you,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  remis- 
sion of  sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost "  (Acts  2:38). 

This  passage  shows  that  logically  and  chrono- 
logically the  gift  of  the  Spirit  is  subsequent  to 
repentance.  Whether  it  follows  as  a  necessary 
and  inseparable  consequence,  as  might  seem,  we 
shall  consider  later.  Suffice  that  this  point  is 
clear,  so  clear  that  one  of  the  most  conservative 
as  well  as  ablest  writers  on  this  subject,  in  com- 
menting on  this  text  in  Acts,  says :  "  There- 
fore it  is  evident  that  the  reception  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  as  here  spoken  of,  has  nothing  whatever  to 
do  with  bringing  men  to  believe  and  repent.  It  is 
a  subsequent  operation;  it  is  an  additional  and 

more  than  eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  therefore  all  believers  now 
have  received  the  same.  As  well  might  the  apostles,  when  first 
called,  have  concluded  that  because  at  his  baptism  the  Spirit  like  a 
dove  rested  upon  Christ,  therefore  they  had  equally  received  the  same 
blessing.  Surely  the  Spirit  has  been  given  and  the  work  in  Christ 
wrought  for  all ;  but  to  enter  into  possession,  to  be  enlightened 
and  made  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  there  must  be  a  personal 
application  to  the  Lord,  etc. — Andrew  Jukes,  "  The  Arew  Man." 


70  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

separate  blessing ;  it  is  a  privilege  founded  on  faith 
already  actively  working  in  the  heart.  .  .  I  do  not 
mean  to  deny  that  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  may 
be  practically  on  the  same  occasion,  but  never  in 
the  same  moment.  The  reason  is  quite  simple  too. 
The  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  grounded  on  the  fact 
that  we  are  sons  by  faith  in  Christ,  believers  rest- 
ing on  redemption  in  him.  Plainly,  therefore,  it 
appears  that  the  Spirit  of  God  has  already  regen- 
erated us."1 

Now,  as  we  examine  the  Scriptures  on  this  point, 
we  shall  see  that  we  are  required  to  appropriate  the 
Spirit  as  sons,  in  the  same  way  that  we  appropri- 
ated Christ  as  sinners.  "As  many  as  received  him, 
even  to  them  that  believe  on  his  name,"  is  the  con- 
dition of  becoming  sons,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
receiving  and  believing  being  used  as  equivalent 
terms.  In  a  kind  of  foretaste  of  Pentecost,  the 
risen  Christ,  standing  in  the  midst  of  his  disciples, 
"  breathed  on  them  and  said,  Receive  ye  the  Holy 
Ghost  '  The  verb  is  not  passive,  as  our  English 
version  might  lead  us  to  suppose,  but  has  here  as 
generally  an  active  signification  just  as  in  the  fa- 
miliar passage  in  Revelation  :  "Whosoever  will,  let 
him  take  the  water  of  life  freely."  Twice  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Galatians  the  possession  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  put  on  the  same  grounds  of  active  appro- 

i  William  Kelly,  "  Lectures  on  the  New  Testament  Doctrine  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,"  p.  161. 


THE   ENDUEMENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  71 

priation  through  faith  :  "  Received  ye  the  Spirit  by 
the  works  of  the  law  or  by  the  hearing  of  faith  ?  " 
(3  :  2).  "That  ye  might  receive  the  promise  of 
the  Spirit  through  faith"  (3  :  14).  These  texts 
seem  to  imply  that  just  as  there  is  a  "faith  toward 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ "  for  salvation,  there  is  a 
faith  toward  the  Holy  Ghost  for  power  and  conse- 
cration. 

If  we  turn  from  New  Testament  teaching  to  New 
Testament  example  we  are  strongly  confirmed  in  this 
impression.  We  begin  with  that  striking  incident  in 
the  nineteenth  chapter  of  Acts.  Paul,  having  found 
certain  disciples  at  Ephesus,  said  unto  them  :  "  Did 
ye  receive  the  Holy  Ghost  when  ye  believed?  And 
they  said  unto  him,  Nay ;  we  did  not  so  much  as 
hear  whether  there  is  a  Holy  Ghost."  This  passage 
seems  decisive  as  showing  that  one  may  be  a  disci- 
ple without  having  entered  into  possession  of  the 
Spirit  as  God's  gift  to  believers.  Some  admit  this, 
who  yet  deny  any  possible  application  of  the  inci- 
dent to  our  own  times,  alleging  that  it  is  the  miracu- 
lous gifts  of  the  Spirit  which  are  here  under  consid- 
eration, since,  after  recording  that  when  Paul  had 
laid  his  hands  upon  them  and  "the  Holy  Ghost 
came  upon  them,"  it  is  added  that  "  they  spake  with 
tongues  and  prophesied."  All  that  need  be  said 
upon  this  point  is  simply  that  these  Ephesian  dis- 
ciples, by  the  reception  of  the  Spirit,  came  into  the 
same  condition  with  the  upper-room  disciples  who 


72  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

received  him  some  twenty  years  before,  and  of 
whom  it  is  written  that  "  they  were  all  filled  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  began  to  speak  with  other 
tongues  as  the  Spirit  gave  them  utterance."  In 
other  words,  these  Ephesian  disciples  on  receiving 
the  Holy  Ghost  exhibited  the  traits  of  the  Spirit 
common  to  the  other  disciples  of  the  apostolic  age. 
Whether  those  traits — the  speaking  of  tongues 
and  the  working  of  miracles — were  intended  to  be 
perpetual  or  not  we  do  not  here  discuss.  But  that 
the  presence  of  the  personal  Holy  Spirit  in  the 
church  was  intended  to  be  perpetual  there  can  be 
no  question.  And  whatsoever  relations  believers 
held  to  that  Spirit  in  the  beginning  they  have  a 
right  to  claim  to-day.  We  must  withhold  our  con- 
sent from  the  inconsistent  exegesis  which  would 
make  the  water  baptism  of  the  apostolic  times  still 
rigidly  binding,  but  would  relegate  the  baptism  in 
the  Spirit  to  a  bygone  dispensation.  We  hold 
indeed,  that  Pentecost  was  once  for  all,  but  equally 
that  the  appropriation  of  the  Spirit  by  believers  is 
always  for  all,  and  that  the  shutting  up  of  certain 
gi  eat  blessings  of  the  Holy  Ghost  within  that  ideal 
realm  called  "the  apostolic  age,"  however  conve- 
nient it  may  be  as  an  escape  from  fancied  difficulties, 
may  be  the  means  of  robbing  believers  of  some  of 
their  most  precious  covenant  rights.1  Let  us  trans- 

1  It  is  a  great  mistake  into  which  some  have  fallen,  to  suppose 
that  the  results  of  Pentecost  were  chiefly  miraculous  and  temporary. 


THE  ENDUEMENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  73 

fer  this  incident  of  the  Ephesian  Christians  to  our 
own  times.  We  need  not  bring  forward  an  imag- 
inary case,  for  by  the  testimony  of  many  experienced 
witnesses  the  same  condition  is  constantly  encoun- 
tered. Not  only  individual  Christians,  but  whole 
communities  of  disciples  are  found  who  have  been 
so  imperfectly  instructed  that  they  have  never 
known  that  there  is  a  Holy  Spirit,  except  as  an  in- 
fluence, an  impersonal  something  to  be  vaguely 
recognized.  Of  the  Holy  Ghost  as  a  Divine  Per- 
son, dwelling  in  the  church,  to  be  honored  and 
invoked  and  obeyed  and  implicitly  trusted,  they 
know  nothing.  Is  it  conceivable  that  there  could 
be  any  deep  spiritual  life  or  any  real  sanctified 
energy  for  service  in  a  community  like  this  ?  And 
what  should  a  well-instructed  teacher  or  evangelist 
do,  on  discovering  a  church  or  an  individual  Chris- 
tian in  such  a  condition  ?  Let  us  turn  to  another 
passage  of  the  Acts  for  an  answer  :  "  Now  when 
the  apostles  which  were  at  Jerusalem  heard  that 
Samaria  had  received  the  word  of  God  they  sent 
unto  them  Peter  and  John,  who  when  they  were 
come  down  prayed  for  them  that  they  might  receive 
the  Holy  Ghost ;  for  as  yet  he  had  fallen  upon 
none  of  them ;  only  they  were  baptized  in  the  name 

I'he  effect  of  such  a  view  is  to  keep  spiritual  influences  out  of  sight ; 
and  it  will  be  well  ever  to  hold  fast  the  assurance  that  a  wide,  deep, 
and  perpetual  spiritual  blessing  in  the  church  is  that  which  above  all 
things  else  was  secured  by  the  descent  of  the  Spirit  after  Christ  was 
glorified. — Dr.  J.  Elder  Gumming,  "Through  the  £ternal  Spirit." 

G 


74  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

of  the  Lord  Jesus.     Then  laid  they  their  hands  on 
them  and  they  received  the  Holy  Ghost  "  (Acts 

8:  14-17)- 

Here  were  believers  who  had  been  baptized  in 
water.  But  this  was  not  enough.  The  baptism  in 
the  Spirit,  already  bestowed  at  Pentecost,  must  be 
appropriated.  Hear  the  prayer  of  the  apostles 
"  that  they  might  receive  the  Holy  Ghost."  Such 
prayer  we  deem  eminently  proper  for  those  who  to- 
day may  be  ignorant  of  the  Comforter.  And  yet 
such  prayer  should  be  followed  by  an  act  of  believ- 
ing acceptance  on  the  part  of  the  willing  disciple  : 
"  O  Holy  Spirit,  I  yield  to  thee  now  in  humble  sur- 
render. I  receive  thee  as  my  Teacher,  my  Com- 
forter, my  Sanctifier,  and  my  Guide."  Do  not 
testimonies  abound  on  every  hand  of  new  lives 
resulting  from  such  an  act  of  consecration  as  this, 
lives  full  of  peace  and  power  and  victory  among 
those  who  before  had  received  the  forgiveness  of 
sins  but  not  the  enduement  of  power  ? 

We  conceive  that  the  great  end  for  which  the 
enduement  of  the  Spirit  is  bestowed  is  our  qualifi- 
cation for  the  highest  and  most  effective  service  in 
the  church  of  Christ.  Other  effects  will  certainly 
attend  the  blessing,  a  fixed  assurance  of  our  accept- 
ance in  Christ,  and  a  holy  separateness  from  the 
world ;  but  these  results  will  be  conducive  to  the 
greatest  and  supreme  end,  our  consecrated  useful- 
ness. 


THE  ENDUEMENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  75 

Let  us  observe  that  Christ,  who  is  our  example 
in  this  as  in  all  things,  did  not  enter  upon  his  min- 
istry till  he  had  received  the  Holy  Ghost.  Not 
only  so,  but  we  see  that  all  his  service  from  his 
baptism  to  his  ascension  was  wrought  in  the  Spirit. 
Ask  concerning  his  miracles,  and  we  hear  him  say- 
ing :  "  I  by  the  Spirit  of  God  cast  out  devils  " 
(Matt.  12  :  28).  Ask  concerning  that  decease 
which  he  accomplished  at  Jerusalem,  and  we  read 
"  that  he  through  the  eternal  Spirit  offered  himself 
without  spot  unto  God  "  (Heb.  9  :  14).  Ask  con- 
cerning the  giving  of  the  great  commission,  and  we 
read  that  he  was  received  up  "  after  that  he  through 
the  Holy  Ghost  had  given  commandments  unto  the 
apostles  "  (Acts  I  :  2).  Thus,  though  he  was  the 
Son  of  God,  he  acted  ever  in  supreme  reliance 
upon  him  who  has  been  called  the  "  Executive  of 
the  Godhead." 

Plainly  we  see  how  Christ  was  our  pattern 
and  exemplar  in  his  relation  to  the  Holy  Spirit. 
He  had  been  begotten  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in 
the  womb  of  the  virgin,  and  had  lived  that  holy 
and  obedient  life  which  this  divine  nativity  would 
imply.  But  when  he  would  enter  upon  his  public 
ministry,  he  waited  for  the  Spirit  to  come  upon 
him,  as  he  had  hitherto  been  in  him.  For  this 
anointing  we  find  him  praying  :  "Jesus  also  being 
baptized  and  praying,  the  heaven  was  opened,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost  descended  in  a  bodily  shape  like  a 


76  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

dove  upon  him  "  (Luke  3  :  22).  Had  he  any 
"  promise  of  the  Father"  to  plead,  as  he  now  asked 
the  anointing  of  the  Spirit,  if  as  we  may  believe 
this  was  the  subject  of  his  prayer  ?  Yes ;  it  had 
been  written  in  the  prophets  concerning  the  rod  out 
of  the  stem  of  Jesse :  "  And  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  shall  rest  upon  him ;  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and 
understanding,  the  spirit  of  counsel  and  might, 
the  spirit  of  knowledge  and  of  the  fear  of  the 
Lord "  (Isa.  1 1  :  2).  "  The  promise  of  the  seven- 
fold Spirit,"  the  Jewish  commentators  call  it.  Cer- 
tainly it  was  literally  fulfilled  upon  the  Son  of  God 
at  the  Jordan,  when  God  gave  him  the  Spirit  with- 
out  measure.  For  he  who  was  now  baptized  was 
in  turn  to  be  baptizer.  "  Upon  whom  thou  shalt 
see  the  Spirit  descending,  and  remaining  on  him, 
the  same  is  he  which  baptizeth  with  the  Holy  Ghost " 
(John  i  :  33).  "I  indeed  baptize  you  in  water  unto 
repentance :  but  he  that  cometh  after  me  is  might- 
ier than  I  ...  he  shall  baptize  you  in  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  in  fire"  (Matt.  3:11,  R.  V.).  And 
now  being  at  the  right  hand  exalted,  and  hav- 
ing "the  seven  spirits  of  God"  (Rev.  3  :  3),  the 
fullness  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  will  shed  forth  his 
power  upon  those  who  pray  for  it,  even  as  the 
Father  shed  it  forth  upon  himself. 

Let  us  observe  now  the  symbols  and  descriptions 
of  the  enduement  of  the  Spirit  which  are  applied 
equally  to  Christ  and  to  the  disciples  of  Christ. 


THE  ENDUEMENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  77 

I.  The  Sealing  of  the  Spirit.  We  hear  Jesus 
saying  to  the  multitude  that  sought  him  for  the 
loaves  and  fishes,  "  Labor  not  for  the  meat  which 
perisheth,  but  for  that  meat  which  endureth  unto 
eternal  life,  which  the  Son  of  man  shall  give  unto 
you,  for  him  hath  God  the  Father  sealed"  (John 
6  :  27).  This  sealing  must  evidently  refer  back  to 
his  reception  of  the  Spirit  at  the  Jordan.  One  of 
the  most  instructive  writers  on  the  Hebrew  worship 
and  ritual  tells  us  that  it  was  the  custom  for  the 
priest  to  whom  the  service  pertained,  having 
selected  a  lamb  from  the  flock,  to  inspect  it  with 
the  most  minute  scrutiny,  in  order  to  discover  if  it 
was  without  physical  defect,  and  then  to  seal  it 
with  the  temple  seal,  thus  certifying  that  it  was  fit 
for  sacrifice  and  for  food.  Behold  the  Lamb  of 
God  presenting  himself  for  inspection  at  the  Jor- 
dan !  Under  the  Father's  omniscient  scrutiny  he 
is  found  to  be  "  a  lamb  without  blemish  and  with- 
out spot."  From  the  opening  heaven  God  gives 
witness  to  the  fact  in  the  words  :  "  This  is  my 
beloved  Son  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased,"  and  then 
he  puts  the  Holy  Ghost  upon  him,  the  testimony 
to  his  sonship,  the  seal  of  his  separation  unto  sacri- 
fice and  service. 

The  disciple  is  as  his  Lord  in  this  experience 
"  In  whom  having  also  believed  ye  were  sealed  with 
the  Holy  Spirit  of  promise"  (Eph.  i  :  13).  As 
always  in  the  statements  of  Scripture,  this  trans- 


78  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

action  is  represented  as  subsequent  to  faith.  It  is 
not  conversion,  but  something  done  upon  a  con- 
verted soul,  a  kind  of  crown  of  consecration  put 
upon  his  faith.  Indeed  the  two  events  stand  in 
marked  contrast.  In  conversion  the  believer  re- 
ceives the  testimony  of  God  and  "  sets  his  seal  to 
it  that  God  is  true"  (John  3  133).  In  consecration 
God  sets  his  seal  upon  the  believer  that  he  is  true. 
The  last  is  God's  "  Amen  "  to  the  Christian,  verify- 
ing the  Christian's  "  Amen  "  to  God.  "  Now  he 
which  establisheth  us  with  you  in  Christ,  and 
anointed  us,  is  God  ;  who  also  sealed  us  and  gave  us 
the  earnest  of  the  Spirit  in  our  hearts  "  (2  Cor.  i  : 
21,  22). 

If  we  ask  to  what  we  are  committed  and  separated 
by  this  divine  transaction,  we  may  learn  by  study- 
ing the  church's  monograph,  if  such  we  may  name 
what  is  brought  out  in  a  mysterious  passage  in  one 
of  the  pastoral  epistles.  In  spite  of  the  defection 
and  unbelief  of  some,  the  apostle  says  :  "  Neverthe- 
less the  foundation  of  God  standeth  sure,  having 
this  seal."  Then  he  gives  us  the  two  inscriptions 
on  the  seal :  "  The  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are 
his  "  ;  and,  "  Let  every  one  that  nameth  the  name 
of  the  Lord  depart  from  unrighteousness  "  (2  Tim. 
2  :  19) — Ownership  and  holiness.  When  we  re- 
ceive the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  it  is  that  we  may 
count  ourselves  henceforth  and  altogether  Christ's. 
If  any  shrink  from  this  devotement,  how  can  he 


THE  ENDUEMENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  79 

have  the  fullness  of  the  Spirit  ?  God  cannot  put 
his  signature  upon  what  is  not  his.  Hence,  if  under 
the  sway  of  a  worldly  spirit  we  withhold  ourselves 
from  God  and  insist  on  self-ownership,  we  need  not 
count  it  strange  if  God  withholds  himself  from  us 
and  denies  us  the  seal  of  divine  ownership.  God  is 
very  jealous  of  his  divine  signet.  He  graciously 
bestows  it  upon  those  who  are  ready  to  devote 
themselves  utterly  and  irrevocably  to  his  service, 
but  he  strenuously  withholds  it  from  those  who, 
while  professing  his  name,  are  yet  "  serving  divers 
lusts  and  pleasures."  There  is  a  suggestive  pas- 
sage in  the  Gospel  of  John  which,  translated  so  as 
to  bring  out  the  antitheses  which  it  contains,  reads 
thus  :  "  Many  trusted'  in  his  name,  beholding  the 
signs  which  he  did ;  but  Jesus  did  not  trust  him- 
self to  them  "  (John  2  : 23,  24).  Here  is  the  great 
essential  to  our  having  the  seal  of  the  Spirit.  Can 
the  Lord  trust  us  ?  Nay ;  the  question  is  more 
serious.  Can  he  trust  himself  to  us  ?  The  Holy 
Spirit,  which  is  his  signet  ring,  can  he  commit  it  to 
our  use  for  signing  our  prayers  and  for  certifying 
ourselves,  and  his  honor  not  be  compromised  ? 

The  other  inscription  on  the  seal  is  :  "  Let  every 
one  that  nameth  the  name  of  the  Lord  depart  from 
unrighteousness."  *  The  possession  of  the  Spirit 

i  It  will  be  observed  that  the  inscription  on  the  seal  is  substantially 
the  same  as  that  upon  the  forehead  of  the  High  Priest,  HIIT?  t^n'p 
— HOLINESS  TO  THE  LORD  (Exod.  39  :  30). 


8o  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE)  SPIRIT 

commits  us  irrevocably  to  separation  from  sin.  For 
what  is  holiness  but  an  emanation  of  the  Spirit  of 
holiness  who  dwells  within  us  ?  A  sanctified  life  is 
therefore  the  print  or  impression  of  his  seal :  "  He 
can  never  own  us  without  his  mark,  the  stamp  of 
holiness.  The  devil's  stamp  is  none  of  God's  badge. 
Our  spiritual  extraction  from  him  is  but  pretended 
unless  we  do  things  worthy  of  so  illustrious  birth 
and  becoming  the  honor  of  so  great  a  Father."  The 
great  office  of  the  Spirit  in  the  present  economy  is 
to  communicate  Christ  to  his  church  which  is  his 
body.  And  what  is  so  truly  essential  of  Christ  as 
holiness  ?  "  In  him  is  no  sin ;  whosoever  abideth 
in  him  sinneth  not."  The  body  can  only  be  sinless 
by  uninterrupted  communion  with  the  Head ;  the 
Head  will  not  maintain  communion  with  the  body 
except  it  be  holy. 

The  idea  of  ownership,  just  considered,  comes  out 
still  further  in  the  words  of  the  apostle :  "  And 
grieve  not  the  Spirit  of  God  in  whom  ye  were 
sealed  unto  the  day  of  redemption  "  (Eph.  4  :  30). 
The  day  of  redemption  is  at  the  advent  of  our  Lord 
in  glory,  when  he  shall  raise  the  dead  and  translate 
the  living.  Now  his  own  are  in  the  world,  but  the 
world  knows  them  not.  But  he  has  put  his  mark 
and  secret  sign  upon  them,  by  which  he  shall  rec- 
ognize them  at  his  coming.  In  that  great  quicken- 
ing, at  the  Redeemer's  advent,  the  Holy  Spirit  will 
be  the  seal  by  which  the  saints  will  be  recognized, 


THE   ENDUEMENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  8 1 

and  the  power  through  which  they  will  be  drawn  up 
to  God.  "  If  the  Spirit  that  raised  up  Jesus  dwell 
in  you  "  (Rom.  1 1  : 9),  is  the  great  condition  of  final 
quickening.  As  the  magnet  attracts  the  particles 
of  iron  and  attaches  them  to  itself  by  first  impart- 
ing its  own  magnetism  to  them,  so  Christ,  having 
given  his  Spirit  to  his  own,  will  draw  them  to  him- 
self through  the  Spirit.  We  are  not  questioning 
now  that  all  who  have  eternal  life  dwelling  in  them 
will  share  in  the  redemption  of  the  body ;  we  are 
simply  entering  into  the  apostle's  exhortation  against 
grieving  the  Spirit.  We  must  fear  lest  we  mar  the 
seal  by  which  we  were  stamped,  lest  we  deface  or 
obscure  the  signature  by  which  we  are  to  be  recog- 
nized in  the  day  of  redemption.1 

In  a  word  the  sealing  is  the  Spirit  himself,  now 
received  by  faith  and  resting  upon  the  believer,  with 
all  the  results  in  assurance,  in  joy,  and  in  empower- 

1  The  allusion  to  the  seal  as  a  pledge  of  purchase  would  be  pecu- 
liarly intelligible  to  the  Ephesians,  for  Ephesus  was  a  maritime  city, 
and  an  extensive  trade  in  timber  was  carried  on  there  by  the  ship- 
masters of  the  neighboring  ports.  The  method  of  purchase  was  this : 
The  merchant,  after  selecting  his  timber,  stamped  it  with  his  own 
signet,  which  was  an  acknowledged  sign  of  ownership.  He  often  did 
not  carry  off  his  possession  at  the  time ;  it  was  left  in  the  harbor  with 
other  floats  of  timber  ;  but  it  was  chosen,  bought,  and  stamped ;  and 
in  due  time  the  merchant  sent  a  trusty  agent  with  the  signet,  who 
finding  that  timber  which  bore  a  corresponding  impress,  claimed  and 
brought  it  away  for  the  master's  use.  Thus  the  Holy  Spirit  impresses 
on  the  soul  now  the  image  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  this  is  the  sure  pledge 
of  the  everlasting  inheritance. — E.  H.  Bickersteth,  "  The  Spirit  of 
Life,"  p.  176. 


82  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

ing  for  service,  which  must  follow  his  unhindered 
sway  in  the  soul.  Dr.  John  Owen,  who  has  written 
more  intelligently  and  more  exhaustively  on  this 
subject  than  any  with  whom  we  are  acquainted,  thus 
sums  up  the  subject :  "  If  we  can  learn  aright  how 
Christ  was  sealed,  we  shall  learn  how  we  are  sealed. 
The  sealing  of  Christ  by  the  Father  is  the  commu- 
nication of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  fullness  to  him,  au- 
thorizing him  unto  and  acting  his  divine  power  in 
all  the  acts  and  duties  of  his  office,  so  as  to  evidence 
the  presence  of  God  with  him  and  .approbation  of 
him.  God's  sealing  of  believers  then  is  his  gracious 
communication  of  the  Holy  Spirit  unto  them  so  to 
act  his  divine  power  in  them  as  to  enable  them  unto 
all  the  duties  of  their  holy  calling,  evidencing  them 
to  be  accepted  with  him  both  for  themselves  and 
others,  and  asserting  their  preservation  unto  eternal 
life."1 

2.  The  Fullness  of  the  Spirit.  Immediately  upon 
his  baptism  we  read  :  "  And  Jesus,  full  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  returned  from  the  Jordan  and  was  led  by 
the  Spirit  into  the  wilderness"  (Luke  4:1).  The 
same  record  is  made  concerning  the  upper-room 
disciples,  immediately  after  the  descent  of  the 
Spirit :  "  And  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy 
Spirit "  (Acts  2  14).  What  is  here  spoken  of  seems 
nothing  different  from  what  in  other  Scriptures  is 

1  John  Owen,  D.  D.,  "Discourse  Concerning  the  Spirit,"  pp.  406, 
407. 


THE  ENDUEMENT  OK  THE  SPIRIT  83 

called  the  reception  of  the  Spirit.     It  is  a  trans- 
action that  may  be  repeated,  and  will  be  if  we  are 
living  in  the  Spirit.     But  it  is  clearly  an  experience 
belonging  to  one  who  has  already  been  converted. 
This  comes  out  very  plainly  in  the  life  of  Paul.     If 
according  to  the  opinion  quoted  in  the  early  part  of 
this  chapter,  the  reception  of  the  Spirit  is  associated 
always  and  inseparably  with  conversion,   one  will 
reasonably  ask,  why  a  conversion  so  marked  and  so 
radical  as  that  of  the  apostle  to  the  Gentiles  need 
be  followed  by  such  an  experience  as  that  named  in 
Acts  9:17:    "  And  Ananias  departed  and  entered 
into  the  house,  and  laying  his  hands  on  him,  said : 
Brother  Saul,  the  Lord,  even  Jesus  who  appeared 
unto  thee  in  the  way  which  thou  earnest,  hath  sent 
me  that  thou  mightest  receive  thy  sight  and  be 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost."     We  seem  to  have  a 
clear  allusion  here  to  that  which  so  constantly  ap- 
pears in  Scripture,  both  in  doctrine  and  in  life,  a 
divine  something  distinct  from  conversion  and  sub- 
sequent to  it,  which  we  have  called  the  reception  of 
the  Spirit.     "The  enduement  of  power"  we  may 
well  name  it ;  for  observe  how  constantly  through- 
out the  book  of   Acts  mighty  works  and  mighty 
utterances    are    connected  with   this  qualification. 
"Then  Peter,  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  said  unto 
them  "  (Acts  4  :  8),  is  the  preface  to  one  of   the 
apostle's  most  powerful  sermons.    "  And  they  were 
all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  they  spake  the 


84  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

word  with  boldness"  (Acts  4:  31),  is  a  similar 
record.  And  they  chose  Stephen,  a  man  full  of 
faith  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  narrative  runs,  re- 
garding the  choice  of  deacons  in  Acts  6  :  5.  "And 
he,  being  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost"  is  the  keynote  to 
his  great  martyr-sermon.  This  infilling  of  the  Spirit 
marks  a  decisive  and  most  important  crisis  in  the 
Christian  life,  judging  from  the  story  of  the  apostle's 
conversion,  to  which  we  have  just  referred. 

But,  as  we  have  intimated,  we  are  far  from  main- 
taining that  this  is  an  experience  once  for  all,  as  the 
sealing  seems  to  be.  As  the  words  "regeneration  " 
and  "  renewal "  used  in  Scripture  mark  respectively 
the  impartation  of  the  divine  life  as  a  perpetual 
possession  and  its  increase  by  repeated  communica- 
tions, so  in  our  sealing  there  is  a  reception  of  the 
Spirit  once  for  all,  which  reception  may  be  followed 
by  repeated  fillings.  It  is  reasonable  to  conclude 
this  since  our  capacity  is  ever  increasing  and  our 
need  constantly  recurring,  according  to  the  beauti- 
ful saying  of  Godet :  "  Man  is  a  vessel  destined  to 
receive  God,  a  vessel  which  must  be  enlarged  in 
proportion  as  it  is  filled  and  filled  in  proportion  as 
it  is  enlarged." 

And  yet  we  confess  here  to  a  degree  of  uncer 
tainty  as  to  the  use  of  terms,  and  as  to  whether 
the  two  now  under  consideration  are  identical. 
We  may  well  pause  therefore  and  lift  a  prayer, 
that  since  "we  have  received  not  the  spirit  of 


THE  ENDUEMENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  85 

the  world  but  the  Spirit  which  is  of  God,  that  we 
might  know  the  things  which  are  freely  given  to  us 
of  God,"  this  blessed  Revelator  and  Interpreter  may 
not  only  reveal  to  us  our  privilege  and  inheritance 
in  the  Holy  Ghost,  but  teach  us  to  name  and  dis  • 
tinguish  the  terms  by  which  it  is  conveyed. 

While  the  fact  of  which  we  are  speaking  seems 
undoubted,  the  exposition  of  it  is  far  from  being 
easy.  Therefore  we  should  attach  no  little  value  to 
a  consensus  of  opinion  on  this  subject  from  those 
who  have  thought  most  carefully  and  searched  most 
prayerfully  concerning  it  This  is  our  apology  for 
the  multiplied  quotations  which  we  are  introducing 
into  this  chapter,  believing  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
most  likely  to  interpret  himself  through  those  who 
most  honor  him  in  seeking  his  guidance  and  illumi- 
nation. 

In  a  recent  work  upon  this  subject,  in  which  care- 
ful scholarship  and  spiritual  insight  seem  to  be 
well  united,  the  author  thus  states  his  conclusions  : 
"  It  seems  to  me  beyond  question,  as  a  matter  of 
experience  both  of  Christians  in  the  present  day 
and  of  the  early  church,  as  recorded  by  inspiration, 
that  in  addition  to  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  received  at 
conversion,  there  is  another  blessing  corresponding 
in  its  signs  and  effects  to  the  blessing  received 
by  the  apostles  at  Pentecost — a  blessing  to  be 
asked  for  and  expected  by  Christians  still,  and  to 
be  described  in  language  similar  to  that  employed 

H 


86  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

in  the  book  of  the  Acts.  Whatever  that  blessing 
may  be,  it  is  in  immediate  connection  with  the 
Holy  Ghost ;  and  one  of  the  terms  by  which  we 
may  designate  it  is  '  to  be  filled  with  the  Spirit.' 
As  with  the  early  Christians  so  with  us  now,  the 
filling  comes  when  there  is  special  need  for  it.  .  . 
And  there  is  an  occasion  when  that  blessing  comes 
to  a  man  for  the  first  time.  That  first  time  is  a 
spiritual  crisis  from  which  his  future  spiritual  life 
must  be  dated.  There  may  be  a  question  as  to 
what  it  is  to  be  called,  or  at  least  by  what  name  in 
Scripture  we  are  authorized  to  call  it.  .  .  Whether 
consciously  or  not,  it  is  to  the  fact  of  the  Holy 
Spirit's  coming  in  new  power  to  the  soul  that  all 
new  life  is  due ;  and  the  more  that  this  is  consciously 
understood  the  more  is  the  Holy  Ghost  in  his  due 
place  in  our  hearts.  It  is  only  when  he  is  con- 
sciously accepted  in  all  his  power  that  we  can  be 
said  to  be  either  '  baptized '  or  '  filled '  with  the 
Holy  Ghost.  I  should  like  to  add  that  it  is  possi- 
ble to  maintain  that  God  from  the  first  offered  to 
his  own  people  a  higher  position  in  this  matter 
than  they  have  generally  been  able  to  occupy,  in 
that  the  fullness  of  the  Spirit  was  and  is  offered  to 
each  soul  at  conversion ;  and  that  it  is  only  from 
want  of  faith  that  subsequent  outpourings  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  become  needful." * 

1 "  Through  the  Eternal  Spirit,"  by  James  Elder  Gumming,  D.D., 
pp.  146,  147. 


THE  ENDUEMENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  87 

That  the  filling  of  the  Spirit  belongs  to  us  as  a 
covenant  privilege  seems  to  be  clear  from  the  ex- 
hortation in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  which 
is  confessedly  of  universal  application :  "  Be  not 
drunken  with  wine,  wherein  is  excess,  but  be  filled 
with  the  Spirit"  (Eph.  5  :  18).  The  passive  verb 
employed  here  is  suggestive.  The  surrendered  will, 
the  yielded  body,  the  emptied  heart,  are  the  great 
requisites  to  his  incoming.  And  when  he  has  come 
and  filled  the  believer,  the  result  is  a  kind  of  pas- 
sive activity,  as  of  one  wrought  upon  and  controlled 
rather  than  of  one  directing  his  own  efforts.  Under 
the  influence  of  strong  drink  there  is  an  outpour- 
ing of  all  that  the  evil  spirit  inspires — frivolity, 
profanity,  and  riotous  conduct.  "Be  God-intoxi- 
cated men,"  the  apostle  would  seem  to  say;  "let 
the  Spirit  of  God  so  control  you  that  you  shall 
pour  yourself  out  in  psalms  and  hymns  and  spirit- 
ual songs."  If  such  divine  enthusiasm  has  its 
perils,  we  believe  that  they  are  less  to  be  dreaded 
than  that  "  moderatism  "  which  makes  the  servants 
of  G">d  satisfied  with  the  letter  of  Scripture  if  only 
that  letter  be  skillfully  and  scientifically  handled, 
rather  than  giving  the  supreme  place  to  the  Spirit 
as  the  inspirer  and  motor  of  all  Christian  service. 

3.  The  Anointing  of  the  Spirit.  After  the 
baptism  and  temptation  we  find  our  Lord  ap- 
propriating to  himself  the  words  of  the  prophet, 
as  he  read  them  in  the  synagogue  of  Nazareth : 


88  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

"  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me,  because  he 
hath  anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings  to  the 
poor"  (Luke  4  :  18).  Twice  in  the  Acts  there  is  a 
reference  to  this  important  event  in  similar  terms : 
"Thy  holy  servant  Jesus,  whom  thou  didst  anoint " 
(Acts  4  :  27,  R.  V.).  "Jesus  of  Nazareth,  how 
that  God  anointed  him  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
with  power"  (Acts  10  :  38).  And  as  with  the  Lord 
so  with  his  disciples :  "  Now  he  that  establisheth 
us  with  you  in  Christ,  and  anointed  us,  is  God  "  (2 
Cor.  i  :  21,  R.  V.). 

A  student  of  the  Scriptures  need  not  be  told 
how  closely  the  ceremony  of  anointing  was  related 
to  all  important  offices  and  ministries  of  the  ser- 
vants of  Jehovah  under  the  old  covenant.  The 
priest  was  anointed  that  he  might  be  holy  unto  the 
Lord  (Lev.  8  :  12).  The  king  was  anointed  that 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  might  rest  upon  him  in 
power  (i  Sam.  16  :  15).  The  prophet  was  anointed 
that  he  might  be  the  oracle  of  God  to  the  people 
(i  Kings  19  :  16).  No  servant  of  Jehovah  was 
deemed  qualified  for  his  ministry  without  this  holy 
sanctifying  touch  laid  upon  him.  Even  in  the 
cleansing  of  the  leper  this  ceremony  was  not  want- 
ing. The  priest  was  required  to  dip  his  right  fin- 
ger in  the  oil  that  was  in  his  left  hand  and  to  put  it 
upon  the  tip  of  the  right  ear,  upon  the  thumb  of 
the  right  hand,  and  upon  the  great  toe  of  the  right 
foot  of  him  that  was  to  be  cleansed,  the  oil  "  upon 


THE  ENDUEMENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  89 

the  blood  of  the  trespass-offering"  (Lev.  14  :  17). 
Thus  with  divine  accuracy  did  even  the  types  foretell 
the  two-fold  provision  for  the  Christian  life,  cleansing 
by  the  blood  and  hallowing  by  the  oil — justifica- 
tion in  Christ,  sanctification  in  the  Spirit. 

If  we  ask  now  what  this  anointing  is,  the  reply 
is  obviously  the  Holy  Spirit  himself.  As  before  he 
was  the  seal  attesting  us,  so  now  he  is  the  oil  sanc- 
tifying us — the  same  gift  described  by  different 
symbols.  And  as  it  was  the  Aaron  who  had  been 
the  first  anointed  who  was  qualified  to  anoint  others, 
so  with  our  great  High  Priest.  It  is  he  within  the 
veil  who  gives  the  Spirit  unto  his  own,  that  he  may 
qualify  them  to  be  ".an  elect  race,  a  royal  priest- 
hood, a  holy  nation,  a  people  for  God's  own  posses- 
sion (i  Peter  2  :  9,  R.  V.).  "But  ye  have  an 
anointing  from  the  Holy  One,  and  ye  know  all 
things  "  (i  John  2  :  20).  Christ  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment is  constantly  called  "the  Holy  One."  And 
because  the  Spirit  was  sent  to  communicate  him  to 
the  people,  they  are  made  partakers  of  his  knowl- 
edge as  well  as  of  his  holiness.  If  it  should  be  said 
that  this  unction  of  which  John  speaks  is  miracu 
lous,  the  divine  illumination  of  evangelists  and 
prophets  who  were  commissioned  to  be  the  vehicles 
of  inspired  Scripture,  we  must  call  attention  to  other 
passages  which  connect  the  knowledge  of  God  with 
the  Holy  Ghost.  "  For  who  among  men  knoweth 
the  things  of  a  man  save  the  spirit  of  a  man  which 


9O  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

is  in  him ;  even  so  the  things  of  God  none  knoweth 
save  the  Spirit  of  God  "  (i  Cor.  2  :  1 1,  R.  V.).  The 
horse  and  his  rider  may  see  the  same  magnifi- 
cent piece  of  statuary  in  the  park ;  the  one  may  be 
delighted  with  it  as  a  work  of  human  genius,  but 
upon  the  dull  eye  of  the  other  it  makes  no  impression, 
and  for  the  reason  that  it  takes  a  human  mind  to 
appreciate  the  work  of  the  human  mind.  Likewise 
only  the  Spirit  of  God  can  know  and  make  known 
the  thoughts  and  teachings  and  revelations  of  God. 
This  seems  to  be  the  meaning  of  John  in  his  dis- 
course concerning  the  divine  unction  :  "  But  the 
anointing  which  ye  have  received  of  him  abideth 
in  you,  and  ye  need  not  that  any  man  teach  you ; 
but  as  the  same  anointing  teacheth  you  of  all  things  " 
(i  John  2  :  27). 

In  nothing  does  the  enduement  of  the  Spirit 
more  distinctly  manifest  itself  than  in  the  fine  dis- 
cernment of  revealed  truth  which  it  imparts.  As 
in  service,  the  contrast  between  working  in  the 
power  of  the  Spirit  and  in  the  energy  of  the  flesh 
is  easily  discernible,  even  more  clearly  in  knowledge 
and  teaching  is  the  contrast  between  the  tuition  of 
learning  and  the  intuition  of  the  Spirit.  While  we 
should  not  undervalue  the  former,  it  is  striking  to 
note  how  the  Bible  puts  the  weightier  emphasis  on 
the  latter ;  so  that  really  the  unspiritual  hearer  is 
to  be  accounted  less  blameworthy  for  not  discern- 
ing the  truth  than  the  intellectual  preacher  is  for 


THE  ENDUEMENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  9! 

expecting  him  to  do  so.  When,  for  example,  one 
attempts  with  the  utmost  learning  to  convince  an 
unbeliever  of  the  deity  of  Christ  and  fails,  the 
word  of  Scripture  to  him  is  :  "  No  man  is  able  to 
say  '  Lord  Jesus  '  save  in  the  Holy  Ghost  "  (i  Cor. 
12  :  3). 

The  Spirit  of  Jesus  can  alone  reveal  to  men 
the  lordship  of  Jesus,  and  this  key  of  knowledge 
the  Holy  Ghost  will  never  put  into  the  hand  of 
any  man  however  learned.  As  it  is  written  that 
Christ  is  the  "raying  forth"  of  the  Father's  glory, 
and  "  the  express  image  of  his  person  "  (Heb.  I  :  3), 
thus  by  a  beautiful  figure  reminding  us  that  as  we 
can  only  see  the  sun  in  the  rays  of  the  sun,  so  we 
can  only  know  God  in  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the 
manifestation  of  God.  It  is  so  likewise  between 
the  second  and  third  Persons  of  the  Trinity.  Christ 
is  the  image  of  the  invisible  God ;  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  the  invisible  image  of  Christ.  As  Jesus 
manifested  the  Father  outwardly,  the  Spirit  mani- 
fests Jesus  inwardly,  forming  him  within  us  as 
the  hidden  man  of  the  heart,  imaging  him  to  the 
spirit  by  an  interior  impression  which  no  intel- 
lectual instruction,  however  diligent,  can  effect. 

In  his  profound  discourse  concerning  the  "  unc- 
tion "  and  accompanying  illumination,  John  was 
only  expounding  by  the  Spirit  what  Jesus  had  said 
before  his  departure :  "  Howbeit,  when  he  the 
Spirit  of  truth  is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into  all 


92  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

truth ;  he  shall  glorify  me ;  for  he  shall  receive  of 
mine  and  shall  show  it  unto  you"  (John  16  :  13). 
"  The  Spirit  of  truth  " — How  much  instruction 
and  suggestion  is  conveyed  by  this  term !  As  he 
is  called  "the  Spirit  of  Christ,"  as  revealing 
Christ  in  his  suffering  and  glory,  so  he  is  called 
"  the  Spirit  of  truth,"  as  manifesting  the  truth  in 
all  its  depths  and  heights.  As  impossible  as  it  is 
that  we  should  know  the  person  of  Christ  without 
the  Spirit  of  Christ  who  reveals  him,  so  impossible 
it  is  that  we  should  know  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus 
without  the  Spirit  of  truth  who  is  appointed  to 
convey  it.  "  The  Spirit  of  truth  whom  the  world 
cannot  receive"  (John  14  :  17) — We  must  come 
to  Christ  before  the  Spirit  can  come  to  us.  "  The 
Spirit  of  truth  which  proceedeth  from  the  Father  " 
(John  15  :  26) — He  can  only  teach  us  in  intelli- 
gent sonship  to  cry  "Abba,  Father."  The  Spirit 
of  truth  .  .  .  shall  guide  you  into  all  truth  "  (John 
1 6  :  13).  Divine  knowledge  is  all  and  altogether 
in  his  power  to  communicate,  and  without  his 
illumination  it  must  be  hidden  from  our  under- 
standing. 

Thus  we  have  had  the  enduement  of  the  Spirit 
presented  to  us  under  three  aspects — sealing,  filling, 
and  anointing — all  of  which  terms,  so  far  as  we 
can  understand,  signify  the  same  thing — the  gift  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  appropriated  through  faith.  Each 
of  these  terms  is  connected  with  some  special 


THE  ENDUEMENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  93 

Divine  endowment — the  seal  with  assurance  and 
consecration ;  the  filling  with  power ;  and  the 
anointing  with  knowledge.  All  these  gifts  are 
wrapt  up  in  the  one  gift  in  which  they  are  included, 
and  without  whom  we  are  excluded  from  their 
possession. 

While  thus  we  conclude  that  it  is  a  Christian's 
privilege  and  duty  to  claim  a  distinct  anointing  of 
the  Spirit  to  qualify  him  for  his  work,  we  would  be 
careful  not  to  prescribe  any  stereotyped  exercises 
through  which  one  must  necessarily  pass  in  order 
to  possess  it.  It  is  easy  to  cite  cases  of  decisive, 
vivid,  and  clearly  marked  experience  of  the  Spirit's 
enduement,  as  in  the  lives  of  Dr.  Finney,  James 
Brainard  Taylor,  and  many  others.  And  instead 
of  discrediting  these  experiences — so  definite  as  to 
time  and  so  distinct  as  to  accompanying  credentials 
— we  would  ask  the  reader  to  study  them,  and 
observe  the  remarkable  effects  which  followed  in 
the  ministry  of  those  who  enjoyed  them.  The 
lives  of  many  of  the  co-laborers  with  Wesley  and 
Whitefield  give  a  striking  confirmation  of  the 
doctrine  which  we  are  defending.  Years  of 
barren  ministry,  in  which  the  gospel  was 
preached  with  orthodox  correctness  and  literary 
finish,  followed,  after  the  Holy  Spirit  had  been 
recognized  and  appropriated,  by  evangelistic  pastor- 
ates of  the  most  fervent  type,  such  is  the  history 
of  not  a  few  of  these  mighty  men  of  God. 


94  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

Let  not  this  great  subject  be  embarrassed  by  too 
minute  theological  definitions  on  the  one  hand,  nor 
by  the  too  exacting  demand  for  striking  spiritual  ex- 
ercises on  the  other,  lest  we  put  upon  simple  souls  a 
burden  greater  than  they  can  bear.  Nevertheless 
we  cannot  emphasize  too  strongly  the.  divine  crisis 
in  the  soul  which  a  full  reception  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
may  bring.  "  My  little  children,  of  whom  I  travail 
in  birth  again  until  Christ  be  formed  in  you  "  (Gal. 
4  :  19),  writes  the  apostle  to  those  who  had  already 
believed  on  the  Son  of  God.  Whatever  he  may 
have  meant  in  this  fervent  saying,  we  doubt  not 
that  the  deepest  yearning  of  the  Spirit  is  for  the 
informing  of  Christ  in  the  heart,  in  order  to  that 
outward  conformity  to  Christ  which  is  the  supreme 
end  of  Christian  nurture.  If  we  conceive  of  the 
Christian  life  as  only  a  gradual  growth  in  grace,  is 
there  not  danger  that  we  come  to  regard  this 
growth  as  both  invisible  and  inevitable,  and  so  take 
little  responsibility  for  its  accomplishment  ?  Let 
the  believer  receive  the  Holy  Ghost  by  a  definite 
act  of  faith  for  his  consecration,  as  he  received 
Christ  by  faith  for  his  justification,  and  may  he  not 
be  sure  that  he  is  in  a  safe  and  scriptural  way  of 
acting  ?  We  know  of  no  plainer  form  of  stating 
the  matter  than  to  speak  of  it  as  a  simple  accept- 
ance by  faith,  the  faith  which  is 

An  affirmation  and  an  act, 

Which  bids  eternal  truth  be  present  fact. 


THE  ENDUEMENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  95 

It  is  a  fact  that  Christ  has  made  atonement  for 
sin ;  in  conversion  faith  appropriates  this  fact  in 
order  to  our  justification.  It  is  a  fact  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  has  been  given  ;  in  consecration  faith 
appropriates  this  fact  for  our  sanctification.  One 
who  writes  upon  this  subject  with  a  scholarship 
evidently  illuminated  by  a  deep  spiritual  tuition, 
says  :  "  If  a  reference  to  personal  experience  may 
be  permitted,  I  may  indeed  here  '  set  my  seal.' 
Never  shall  I  forget  the  gain  to  conscious  faith  and 
peace  which  came  to  my  own  soul,  not  long  after  a 
first  decisive  and  appropriating  view  of  the  crucified 
Lord  as  the  sinner's  sacrifice  of  peace,  from  a  more 
intelligent  and  conscious  hold  upon  the  living  and 
most  gracious  personality  of  the  Spirit  through 
whose  mercy  the  soul  had  got  that  blessed  view. 
It  was  a  new  development  of  insight  into  the  love 
of  God.  It  was  a  new  contact  as  it  were  with  the 
inner  and  eternal  movements  of  redeeming  goodness 
and  power,  a  new  discovery  in  divine  resources.  " 1 

Well  is  our  doctrine  described  in  these  italicised 
words  :  "  A  contact  with  the  inner  movements  of 
Divine  power."  The  energy  of  the  Spirit  appropri 
ated,  even  as  with  uplifted  finger  the  electric  car 
touches  the  current  which  is  moving  just  above  it 
in  the  wire  and  is  borne  irresistibly  on  by  it. — • 
Thus  does  the  power  which  is  eternally  for  us 
become  a  power  within  us ;  the  law  of  Sinai,  with 

1(<  Veni  Creator  Spiritus"  by  Principal  H.  C.  G.  Moule,  p.  13. 


g6  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

its  tables  of  stone,  is  replaced  by  "  the  law  of  the 
Spirit  of  life "  in  the  fleshly  tables  of  the  heart  > 
the  outward  commandment  is  exchanged  for  an  in- 
ward decalogue ;  hard  duty  by  holy  delight,  that 
henceforth  the  Christian  life  may  be  "  all  in  Christ, 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  for  the  glory  of  God." 


VI 
THE    COMMUNION   OF  THE    SPIRIT 


"  In  his  intimate  union  with  his  Son,  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the 
unique  organ  by  which  God  wills  to  communicate  to  man  his 
own  life,  the  supernatural  life,  the  divine  life — that  is  to  say, 
his  holiness,  his  power,  his  love,  his  felicity.  To  this  end 
the  Son  works  outwardly,  the  Holy  Spirit  inwardly." — 
Paitor  G.  F.  TopheL 


VI 

THE    COMMUNION    OF    THE    SPIRIT* 

rFHE  familiar  benediction  which  invokes  upon  us 
J-  the  "  communion  of  the  Holy  Ghost "  has  prob- 
ably a  deeper  meaning  in  it  than  has  generally  been 
recognized.  The  word  "  communion  " — xoivwia — 
signifies  the  having  in  common.  It  is  used  of  the 
fellowship  of  believers  one  with  another,  and  also 
of  their  mutual  fellowship  with  God.  The  Holy 
Spirit  dwelling  in  us  is  the  agent  through  whom 
this  community  of  life  and  love  is  effected  and 
maintained.  "  And  truly  our  fellowship,"  says  John, 
"  is  with  the  Father  and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ " 
(i  John  i  :  3).  But  this  having  in  common  with 
the  first  two  persons  of  the  Godhead  were  only  pos- 
sible through  the  communion  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
the  third  person.  In  his  promise  of  the  Comforter, 
Jesus  said :  "  He  shall  take  of  mine  and  show  it 
unto  you."  As  the  Son  while  on  earth  communi- 
cated to  men  the  spiritual  riches  of  the  invisible 
Father,  so  the  Spirit  now  communicates  to  us  the 
hidden  things  of  the  invisible  Son  ;  and  if  we  were 
required  to  describe  in  a  word  the  present  office- 
work  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  we  should  say  that  it  is  to 
make  true  in  us  that  which  is  already  true  for  us  in 

99 


IOO  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

our  glorified  Lord.  All  light  and  life  and  warmth 
are  stored  up  for  us  in  the  sun  ;  but  these  can  only 
reach  us  through  the  atmosphere  which  stands  be- 
tween us  and  that  sun  as  the  medium  of  communi- 
cation ;  even  so  in  Christ  are  "  hidden  all  the 
treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge,"  and  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  these  are  made  over  to  us.  It  will  be 
our  endeavor  in  this  chapter  to  count  up  our  hid 
treasures  in  Christ,  and  to  consider  the  Spirit  in  his 
various  offices  of  communication. 

I.  The  Spirit  of  Life :  Our  Regeneration.  Not 
until  our  Lord  took  his  place  at  God's  right  hand 
did  he  assume  his  full  prerogative  as  life-giver  to  us. 
He  was  here  in  the  flesh  for  our  death ;  he  took  on 
him  our  nature  that  he  might  injiimself  crucify  our 
Adam-life  and  put  it  away.  But  when  he  rose  from 
the  dead  and  sat  down  on  his  Father's  throne,  he 
became  the  life-giver  to  all  his  mystical  body,  which 
is  the  church.  To  talk  of  being  saved  by  the 
earthly  life  of  Jesus  is  to  know  Christ  only  "  after 
the  flesh."  True,  the  apostle  says  that  "  being 
reconciled  "  by  Christ's  death,  "  much  more  being 
reconciled  we  shall  be  saved  by  his  life."  But  he 
here  refers  plainly  to  his  glorified  life.  And  Jesus, 
looking  forward  to  the  time  when  he  should  have 
risen  from  the  dead,  says  :  "  Because  I  live,  ye  shall 
live  also."  Christ  on  the  throne  is  really  the  heart 
of  the  church,  and  every  regeneration  is  a  pulse- 
beat  of  that  heart  in  souls  begotten  from  above 


THE  COMMUNION  OF  THE  SPIRIT          IO1 

through  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  new  birth  therefore 
is  not  a  change  of  nature  as  it  is  sometimes  denned ; 
it  is  rather  the  communication  of  the  Divine  nature, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  is  now  the  Mediator  through 
whom  this  life  is  transmitted.  If  we  take  our 
Lord's  words  to  Nicodemus  :  "  Except  a  man  be 
born  again  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God,"  and 
press  the  "again"  avwOev  back  to  its  deepest  signi- 
ficance, it  becomes  very  instructive.  "  Born  from 
above,"  say  some.  And  very  true  to  fact  is  this 
saying.  Regeneration  is  not  our  natural  life  carried 
up  to  its  highest  point  of  attainment,  but  the  Divine 
life  brought  down  to  its  lowest  point  of  condescen- 
sion, even  to  the  heart  of  fallen  man.  John,  in 
speaking  of  Jesus  as  the  life-giver,  calls  him  "he 
that  cometh  from  above"  (3  :  31);  and  Jesus,  in 
speaking  to  the  degenerate  sons  of  Abraham,  says  : 
"Ye  are  from  beneath,  I  am  from  above"  (John 
8  :  23).  It  has  been  the  constant  dream  and  delu- 
sion of  men  that  they  could  rise  to  heaven  by  the 
development  and  improvement  of  their  natural  life. 
Jesus  by  one  stroke  of  revelation  destroys  this  hope, 
telling  his  hearer  that  unless  he  has  been  begotten 
of  God  who  is  above  as  truly  as  he  has  been  be- 
gotten of  his  father  on  earth,  he  cannot  see  the 
kingdom  of  God. 

Others  make  these  words  of  our  Lord  signify 
"born  from  the  beginning"  There  must  be  a  re- 
sumption of  life  de  novo,  a  return  to  the  original 


102  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

source  and  fountain  of  being.  To  find  this  it  is  not 
enough  that  we  go  back  to  the  creation-beginning 
revealed  in  Genesis ;  we  must  return  to  the  pre- 
creation-beginning  revealed  in  John,  the  book  of 
re-genesis.  In  the  opening  of  Genesis  we  find 
Adam,  created  holy,  now  fallen  through  temptation, 
his  face  averted  from  God  and  leading  the  whole 
human  race  after  him  into  sin  and  death.  In  the 
opening  of  the  Gospel  of  John  we  find  the  Son  of 
God  in  holy  fellowship  with  the  Father.  "  In  the 
beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  toward 
God,  •xpb':  TOV  dzdv — not  merely  proceeding  from  God, 
but  tending  toward  God  by  eternal  communion. 
Conversion  restores  man  to  this  lost  attitude :  "  Ye 
turned  to  God,  ff/><*c  rdv  e^dv,  from  idols  to  serve  the 
living  and  true  God  "  (I  Thess.  I  :  9).  Regeneration 
restores  man  to  his  forfeited  life,  the  unfallen  life 
of  the  Son  of  God,  the  life  which  has  never  wavered 
from  steadfast  fellowship  with  the  Father.  "  I  give 
unto  them  eternal  life,"  says  Jesus.  Is  eternal  life 
without  end  ?  Yes  ;  and  just  as  truly  without  be- 
ginning. It  is  uncreated  being  in  distinction  from 
all-created  being ;  it  is  the  I-am  life  of  God  in  con- 
trast to  the  I-become  life  of  all  human  souls.  By 
spiritual  birth  we  acquire  a  divine  heredity  as  truly 
as  by  natural  birth  we  acquire  a  human  heredity. 

In  the  condensed  antithesis  with  which  our  Lord 
concludes  his  demand  for  the  new  birth,  we  have 
both  the  philosophy  and  the  justification  of  his 


THE  COMMUNION  OF  THE  SPIRIT          103 

/  ' 

doctrine  :   "  That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh, 

and  that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit. 
Marvel  not  that  I  say  unto  you,  Ye  must  be  born 
anew  "  (John  3  :  7,  R.  V.).  By  no  process  of  evo- 
lution, however  prolonged,  can  the  natural  man  be 
developed  into  the  spiritual  man  ;  by  no  process  of  de- 
generation can  the  spiritual  man  deteriorate  into  the 
natural  man.  These  two  are  from  a  totally  different 
stock  and  origin ;  the  one  is  from  beneath,  the 
other  is  from  above.  There  is  but  one  way  through 
which  the  relation  of  sonship  can  be  established,  and 
that  is  by  begetting.  That  God  has  created  all  men 
does  not  constitute  them  his  sons  in  the  evangelical 
sense  of  that  word.  The  sonship  on  which  the  New 
Testament  dwells  so  constantly  is  based  absolutely 
and  solely  on  the  experience  of  the  new  birth,  while 
the  dpctrine  of  universal  sonship  rests  either  upon 
a  daring  denial  or  a  daring  assumption — the  denial 
of  the  universal  fall  of  man  through  sin,  or  the 
assumption  of  the  universal  regeneration  of  man 
through  the  Spirit.  In  either  case  the  teaching  be- 
longs to  "another  gospel,"  the  recompense  of  whose 
preaching  is  not  a  beatitude  but  an  anathema.1 
The  contrast  between  the  two  lives  and  the  way 

i  Milton  probably  gives  the  true  genesis  of  this  doctrine  in  these 
words,  which  he  puts  into  the  mouth  of  Satan : 

"  The  son  of  God  I  also  am  or  was ; 
And  if  I  was,  I  am ;  relation  stands ; 
All  men  are  sons  of  God." 


IO4  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

in  which  the  partnership — the  xotwvia — with  the 
new  is  effected,  is  told  in  that  deep  saying  of  Peter : 
"  Whereby  he  hath  granted  us  his  precious  and  ex- 
ceeding great  promises  ;  that  through  these  ye  may 
become  partakers — xotvuvoi — of  the  divine  natuie, 
having  escaped  from  the  corruption  which  is  in  the 
world  by  lust"  (2  Pet.  I  :  4,  R.  V.).  Here  are  the 
two  streams  of  life  contrasted  : 

i    The  corruption  in  the  world  through  lust. 

2.  The  Divine  nature  which  is  in  the  world 
through  the  incarnation. 

Here  is  the  Adam-life  into  which  we  are  brought 
by  natural  birth  ;  and  over  against  it  the  Christ-life 
into  which  we  are  brought  by  spiritual  birth.  From 
the  one  we  escape,  of  the  other  we  partake.  The 
source  and  issue  of  the  one  are  briefly  summarized : 
"  Lust  when  it  hath  conceived  bringeth  forth  sin, 
and  sin  when  it  is  finished  bringeth  forth  death." 
The  Jordan  is  a  fitting  symbol  of  our  natural  life, 
rising  in  a  lofty  elevation  and  from  pure  springs, 
but  plunging  steadily  down  till  it  pours  itself  into 
that  Dead  Sea  from  which  there  is  no  outlet.  To 
be  taken  out  of  this  stream  and  to  be  brought  into 
the  life  which  flows  from  the  heart  of  God  is  man's 
only  hope  of  salvation.  And  the  method  of  effecting 
this  transition  is  plainly  stated,  "through  these,"  or 
by  means  of  the  precious  and  exceeding  great  prom- 
ises. As  in  grafting,  the  old  and  degenerate  stock 
must  first  be  cut  off  and  then  the  new  inserted,  so 


THE  COMMUNION  OF  THE  SPIRIT          105 

in  regeneration  we  are  separated  from  the  flesh  and 
incorporated  by  the  Spirit.  And  what  the  scion  is 
in  grafting,  the  word  or  promise  of  God  is  in  regen- 
eration. It  is  the  medium  through  which  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  conveyed,  the  germ  cell  in  which  the  Divine 
life  is  enfolded.  Hence  the  emphasis  which  is  put 
in  Scripture  upon  the  appropriation  of  divine  truth. 
We  are  told  that  "of  his  own  will  begat  he  us 
with  the  word  of  truth"  (James  I  :  18).  "Having 
been  begotten  again,  not  of  corruptible  seed  but  of 
incorruptible,  throtigJi  the  word  of  God,  which  liveth 
and  abideth"  (i  Peter  I  :  23,  R.  V.). 

Very  deep  and  significant,  therefore,  is  the  saying 
of  Jesus  hi  respect  to  the  regenerating  power  of  his 
words,  in  the  sixth  chapter  of  the  Gospel  of  John. 
He  emphasizes  the  contrariety  between  the  two 
natures,  the  human  and  the  divine,  saying :  "  It  is 
the  Spirit  that  quickeneth,  the  flesh  profiteth  noth- 
ing." And  then  he  adds  :  "  The  words  which  I 
have  spoken  unto  you  are  spirit  and  life."  As  God 
in  creation  breathed  into  man  the  breath  of  life  and 
he  became  a  living  soul,  so  the  Lord  Jesus  by  the 
word  of  his  mouth,  which  is  the  breath  of  life,  re- 
creates man  and  makes  him  alive  unto  God.  And 
not  life  only,  but  likeness  as  well,  is  thus  imparted. 
"  So  God  created  man  in  his  own  image ;  in  the 
image  of  God  created  he  him,"  is  the  simple  story 
of  the  origin  of  an  innocent  race.  Then  follows 
the  temptation  and  the  fall,  and  then  the  story  of  the 


IO6  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

descent  of  a  ruined  humanity  :  "  And  Adam  begot 
a  son  in  his  own  likeness,  after  his  image." 

And  yet  how  wide  the  gulf  between  these  two 
origins.  The  notion  is  persistent  and  incurable  in 
the  human  heart,  that  whatever  variation  there  may 
have  been  from  the  original  type,  education  and  train- 
ing can  reshape  the  likeness  of  Adam  to  the  likeness 
of  God.  "  As  the  twig  is  bent  the  tree  is  inclined," 
says  the  popular  proverb.  True ;  but  though  a 
crooked  sapling  may  be  developed  into  the  upright 
oak,  no  bending  or  manipulation  can  ever  so  change 
the  species  of  the  tree  as  to  enable  men  to  gather 
grapes  of  thorns  or  figs  of  thistles.  Here  again 
the  dualism  of  Jesus  Christ's  teaching  is  distinctly 
recognized.  "  A  good  tree  cannot  bring  forth  evil 
fruit,  neither  can  a  corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good 
fruit."  And  what  is  the  remedy  for  a  corrupt  tree? 
The  cutting  off  of  the  old  and  the  bringing  in  of  a 
new  scion  and  stock.  The  life  of  God  can  alone 
beget  the  likeness  of  God ;  the  divine  type  is 
wrapped  up  in  the  same  germ  which  holds  the 
Divine  nature.  Therefore  in  regeneration  we  are 
said  to  have  "  put  on  the  new  man  who  is  renewed 
in  knowledge  after  the  image  of  him  that  created 
him"  (Col.  3  :  10),  and  "which  after  God  hath  been 
created  in  ...  true  holiness  "  (Eph.  4  :  24). 

In  a  word,  the  lost  image  of  God  is  not  restamped 
upon  us,  but  renewed  within  us.  Christ  our  life 
was  "  begotten  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  and  he  became 


THE  COMMUNION  OF  THE  SPIRIT          107 

the  fount  and  origin  of  life  henceforth  for  all 
his  church.  This  communication  of  the  divine 
life  from  Christ  to  the  soul  through  the  Holy  Spirit 
is  a  hidden  transaction,  but  so  great  in  its  signifi- 
cance and  issues  that  one  has  well  called  it  "  the 
greatest  of  all  miracles."  As  in  the  origin  of  our 
natural  life  we  are  made  in  secret  and  curiously 
wrought,  much  more  in  our  spiritual.  But  the  issue 
has  to  do  with  the  farthest  eternity.  "  As  when  the 
Lord  was  born  the  world  still  went  on  its  old  way, 
little  conscious  that  one  had  come  who  should  one 
day  change  and  rule  all  things,  so  when  the  new 
man  is  framed  within,  the  old  life  for  a  while  goes 
on  much  as  before ;  the  daily  calling,  and  the  earthly 
cares,  and  too  often  old  lusts  and  habits  also,  still  en- 
gross us ;  a  worldly  eye  sees  little  new,  while  yet 
the  life  which  shall  live  forever  has  been  quickened 
within  and  a  new  man  been  formed  who  shall  in- 
herit all."  l 

2.  The  Spirit  of  Holiness :  Our  Sanctification. 
"  According  to  the  Spirit  of  holiness  "  Christ  "  was 
declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  in  power  by  the  res- 
urrection from  the  dead"  (Rom.  i  :  4).  How  strik- 
ing the  antithesis  between  our  Lord's  two  natures, 
as  revealed  in  this  passage,  Son  of  David  as  to  the 
flesh,  Son  of  God  as  to  the  Spirit.  And  "  as  he  is  so 
are  we  in  this  world."  We  who  are  regenerate  have 
two  natures,  the  one  derived  from  Adam,  the  other 

1  Andrew  Jukes,  "  The  New  Man,"  p.  53. 


108  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

derived  from  Christ,  and  our  sanctifi cation  consists 
in  the  double  process  of  mortification  and  vivifica- 
tion,  the  deadening  and  subduing  of  the  old  and  the 
quickening  and  developing  of  the  new.  In  other 
words,  what  was  wrought  in  Christ  who  was  "  put 
to  death  in  the  flesh  but  quickened  in  the  spirit "  is 
rewrought  in  us  through  the  constant  operation  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  thus  the  cross  and  the  resur- 
rection extend  their  sway  over  the  entire  life  of 
the  Christian.  Consider  these  two  experiences. 

Mortification  is  not  asceticism.  It  is  not  a  self- 
inflicted  compunction,  but  a  Christ-inflicted  cruci- 
fixion. Our  Lord  was  done  with  the  cross  when 
on  Calvary  he  cried  :  "  It  is  finished."  But  where 
he  ended  each  disciple  must  begin  :  "  If  any  man 
will  come  after  me  let  him  deny  himself  and  take 
up  his  cross  and  follow  me.  For  whosoever  will 
save  his  life  shall  lose  it,  and  whosoever  will  lose 
his  life  for  my  sake  shall  find  it"  (Matt.  16  :  24,  25). 
These  words,  so  constantly  repeated  in  one  form  or 
another  by  our  Lord,  make  it  clear  that  the  death- 
principle  must  be  realized  within  us  in  order  that 
the  life-principle  may  have  final  and  triumphant 
sway.  It  is  to  this  truth  which  every  disciple  is 
solemnly  committed  in  his  baptism  :  "  Know  ye 
not  that  so  many  of  us  as  were  baptized  into  Christ 
were  baptized  into  his  death  ?  Therefore  we  were 
buried  with  him  by  baptism  into  death,  that 
like  as  Christ  was  raised  up  from  the  dead  by 


THE  COMMUNION  OF  THE  SPIRIT          109 

the  glory  of  the  Father,  even  so  we  also  should 
walk  in  newness  of  life"  (Rom.  6  :  3,  4).  Bap- 
tism is  the  monogram  of  the  Christian ;  by  it 
every  believer  is  sealed  and  certified  as  a  participant 
in  the  death  and  life  of  Christ ;  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
has  been  given  to  be  the  Executor  of  the  contract 
thus  made  at  the  symbolic  grave  of  Christ. 

In  considering  the  great  fact  of  the  believer's 
death  in  Christ  to  sin  and  the  law,  we  must  not 
confound  what  the  Scriptures  clearly  distinguish. 
There  are  three  deaths  in  which  we  have  part : 

1 .  Death  in  sin,  our  natural  condition. 

2.  Death  for  sin,  our  judicial  condition. 

3 .  Death  to  sin  our  sanctified  condition. 

1 .  Death  in  sin.    "  And  you  .  .  .  who  were  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins,"  "  And  you  being  dead  in  your 
sins  "  (Eph.  2:1;  Col.  2  :  13).     This  is  the  con- 
dition in  which  we  are  by  nature,  as  participants 
in  the  fall  and  ruin  into  which  the  transgression  of 
our  first  parents  has  plunged  the  race.     It  is  a  con- 
dition in  which  we  are  under  moral  insensibility  to 
the  claims  of  God's  holiness  and  love ;  and  under 
the  sentence  of  eternal  punishment  from  the  law 
which  we  have  broken.     In  this  state  of  death  in 
sin  Christ  found  the  whole  world  when  he  came  to 
be  our  Saviour. 

2.  Death  for  sin.     "Wherefore,  my  brethren,  ye 
also  are  become  dead  to  the  law  by  the  body  of 
Christ "  (Rom.  7  :  4).     This  is  the  condition  into 

K 


IIO  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

which  Christ  brought  us  by  his  sacrifice  upon  the 
cross.  He  endured  the  sentence  of  a  violated  law 
on  our  behalf,  and  therefore  we  are  counted  as  hav- 
ing endured  it  in  him.  What  he  did  for  us  is 
reckoned  as  having  been  done  by  us  :  "  Because 
we  thus  judge,  that  one  died  for  all,  therefore  all 
died"  (2  Cor.  5  :  14,  R.  V.).  Being  one  with 
Christ  through  faith,  we  are  identified  with  him  on 
the  cross  :  "  I  have  been  crucified  with  Christ  " 
(Gal.  2  :  20,  R.  V.).  This  condition  of  death 
for  sin  having  been  effected  for  us  by  our  Saviour, 
we  are  held  legally  or  judicially  free  from  the 
penalty  of  a  violated  law,  if  by  our  personal  faith 
we  will  consent  to  the  transaction. 

3.  Death  to  sin.  "  Even  so  reckon  ye  also  your- 
selves to  be  dead  unto  sin,  but  alive  unto  God  in 
Christ  Jesus"  (Rom.  6  :  1 1,  R.  V.).  This  is  the  con- 
dition of  making  true  in  ourselves  what  is  already 
true  for  us  in  Christ,  of  rendering  practical  what 
is  now  judicial ;  in  other  words,  of  being  dead  to 
the  power  of  sin  in  ourselves,  as  we  are  already 
dead  to  the  penalty  of  sin  through  Jesus  Christ. 
As  it  is  written  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossiars : 
"  For  ye  died,"  judicially  in  Christ,  "  mortify " — 
make  dead  practically — "therefore  your  members 
which  are  upon  the  earth"  (Col.  3  :  2,  5,  R.  V.).  It 
is  this  condition  which  the  Holy  Spirit  is  constantly 
effecting  in  us  if  we  will  have  it  so.  "  If  ye 
through  the  Spirit  do  mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body 


THE  COMMUNION   OF  THE  SPIRIT          III 

ye  shall  live "  (Rom.  8  :  13).  This  is  not  self- 
deadening,  as  the  Revised  Version  seems  to  suggest 
by  its  decapitalizing  of  the  word  "  Spirit."  Self  is 
not  powerful  enough  to  conquer  self,  the  human 
spirit  to  get  the  victory  over  the  human  flesh. 
That  were  like  a  drowning  man  with  his  right  hand 
laying  hold  on  his  left  hand,  only  that  both  may 
sink  beneath  the  waves.  "  Old  Adam  is  too  strong 
for  young  Melancthon,"  said  the  Reformer.  It  is 
the  Spirit  of  God  overcoming  our  fleshly  nature  by 
his  indwelling  life,  on  whom  is  our  sole  dependence. 
Our  principal  care  therefore  must  be  to  "  walk  in 
the  Spirit  "  and  "  be  filled  with  the  Spirit,"  and  all 
the  rest  will  come  spontaneously  and  inevitably. 
As  the  ascending  sap  in  the  tree  crowds  off  the 
dead  leaves  which  in  spite  of  storm  and  frost  cling 
to  the  branches  all  winter  long,  so  does  the  Holy 
Ghost  within  us,  when  allowed  full  sway,  subdue 
and  expel  the  remnants  of  our  sinful  nature. 

One  cannot  fail  to  see  that  asceticism  is  an  abso- 
lute inversion  of  the  Divine  order,  since  it  seeks 
life  through  death  instead  of  finding  death  through 
life.  No  degree  of  mortification  can  ever  bring  us 
to  sanctification.  We  are  to  "  put  off  the  old  man 
with  his  deeds."  But  how  ?  By  "  putting  on  the 
new  man  who  is  renewed  in  knowledge  after  the 
image  of  him  that  created  him."  "  For  the  law  of 
the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath  made  me 
free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death  "  (Rom.  8  :  2), 


112  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

writes  Paul.  It  is  a  pointed  statement  of  the  case 
which  one  makes  in  describing  the  transition  from 
the  old  to  the  new  in  his  own  experience,  from  the 
former  life  of  perpetual  defeat  to  the  present  life 
of  victory  through  Christ.  "  Once  it  was  a  con- 
stant breaking  off,  now  it  is  a  daily  bringing  in," 
he  says.  That  is,  the  former  striving  was  directed 
to  being  rid  of  the  inveterate  habits  and  evil  ten- 
dencies of  the  old  nature — its  selfishness,  its  pride, 
its  lust,  and  its  vanity.  Now  the  effort  is  to  bring 
in  the  Spirit,  to  drink  in  his  divine  presence,  to 
breathe,  as  a  holy  atmosphere,  his  supernatural  life. 
The  indwelling  of  the  Spirit  can  alone  effect  the 
exclusion  of  sin.  This  will  appear  if  we  consider 
what  has  been  called  "the  expulsive  power  of  a 
new  affection."  "  Love  not  the  world,  neither  the 
things  that  are  in  the  world,"  says  the  Scripture. 
But  all  experience  proves  that  loving  not  is  only 
possible  through  loving,  the  worldly  affection  being 
overcome  by  the  heavenly. 

And  we  find  this  method  clearly  exhibited  in  the 
word.  "  The  love  of  the  Spirit "  (Rom.  1 5  :  30) 
is  given  us  for  overcoming  the  world.  The  divine 
life  is  the  source  of  the  divine  love.  Therefore 
"the  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by 
the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  given  unto  us."  Because 
we  are  by  nature  so  wholly  without  heavenly  affec- 
tion, God,  through  the  indwelling  Spirit,  gives  us 
bis  own  love  with  which  to  love  himself.  Herein 


THE  COMMUNION  OF  THE  SPIRIT          113 

is  the  highest  credential  of  discipleship  :  "  By  this 
shall  all  men  know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye 
have  love  one  to  another"  (John  13  :  35).  As 
Christ  manifested  to  the  world  the  love  of  the 
Father,  so  are  we  to  manifest  the  love  of  Christ — a 
manifestation,  however,  which  is  only  possible 
because  of  our  possessorship  of  a  common  life. 
As  one  has  truly  said  concerning  our  Saviour's 
command  to  his  disciples  to  love  one  another  :  "  It 
is  a  command  which  would  be  utterly  idle  and 
futile  were  it  not  that  he,  the  ever-loving  One,  is 
willing  to  put  his  own  love  within  me.  The  com- 
mand is  really  no  more  than  to  be  a  branch  of  the 
true  vine.  I  am  to  cease  from  my  own  living  and 
loving,  and  yield  myself  to  the  expression  of 
Christ's  love." 

And  what  is  true  of  the  love  of  Christ  is  true  of 
the  likeness  of  Christ.  How  is  the  likeness  ac- 
quired ?  Through  contemplation  and  imitation  ? 
So  some  have  taught.  And  it  is  true,  if  only  the 
indwelling  Spirit  is  behind  all,  beneath  all,  and  ef- 
fectually operative  in  all.  As  it  is  written  :  "  But 
we  all  with  unveiled  face,  reflecting  as  a  mirror  the 
glory  of  the  Lord,  are  transformed  into  the  same 
image  from  glory  to  glory,  even  as  from  the  Lord, 
the  Spirit"  (2  Cor.  3:18,  R.  V.).  It  is  only  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  dwelling  within  us  that  can  fashion 
us  to  the  image  of  the  Lord  set  before  us.  Who 
is  sufficient  by  external  imitation  of  Christ  to  become 


114  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

conformed  to  the  likeness  of  Christ  ?  Imagine  one 
without  genius  and  devoid  of  the  artist's  training 
sitting  down  before  Raphael's  famous  picture  of  the 
Transfiguration  and  attempting  to  reproduce  it. 
How  crude  and  mechanical  and  lifeless  his  work 
would  be !  But  if  such  a  thing  were  possible  that 
the  spirit  of  Raphael  should  enter  into  the  man 
and  obtain  the  mastery  of  his  mind  and  eye  and 
hand,  it  would  be  entirely  possible  that  he  should 
paint  this  masterpiece ;  for  it  would  simply  be 
Raphael  reproducing  Raphael.  And  this  in  a  mys- 
tery is  what  is  true  of  the  disciple  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Christ,  who  is.  "  the  image  of  the  in- 
visible God,"  is  set  before  him  as  his  divine  pat- 
tern, and  Christ  by  the  Spirit  dwells  within  him  as  a 
divine  life,  and  Christ  is  able  to  image  forth  Christ 
from  the  interior  life  to  the  outward  example. 

Of  course  likeness  to  Christ  is  but  another  name 
for  holiness,  and  when,  at  the  resurrection,  we 
awake  satisfied  with  his  likeness  (Ps.  17:  15),  we 
shall  be  perfected  in  holiness.  This  is  simply  say- 
ing that  sanctification  is  progressive  and  not,  like 
conversion,  instantaneous.  And  yet  we  must  ad- 
mit the  force  of  what  a  devout  and  thoughtful 
writer  says  as  to  the  danger  of  regarding  it  as  only 
a  gradual  growth.  If  a  Christian  looks  upon  himself 
as  "a  tree  planted  by  the  rivers  of  water  that  bring- 
eth  forth  his  fruit  in  his  season,"  he  judges  rightly. 
But  to  conclude  therefore  that  his  growth  will  be  as 


THE  COMMUNION  OF  THE  SPIRIT          115 

irresistible  as  that  of  the  tree,  coming  as  a  matter 
of  course  simply  because  he  has  by  regeneration 
been  planted  in  Christ,  is  a  grave  mistake.  The 
disciple  is  required  to  be  consciously  and  intelli- 
gently active  in  his  own  growth,  as  a  tree  is  not, 
"  to  give  all  diligence  to  make  his  calling  and  elec- 
tion sure."  And  when  we  say  "  active  "  we  do  not 
mean  self -active  merely,  for  "  which  of  you  by  being 
anxious  can  add  one  cubit  unto  his  stature  ?  "  asks  Je- 
sus (Matt.  6  :  27,  R.  V.).  But  we  must  surren- 
der ourselves  to  the  divine  action  by  living  in  the 
Spirit  and  praying  in  the  Spirit  and  walking  in  the 
Spirit,  all  of  which  conditions  are  as  essential  to 
our  development  in  holiness,  as  the  rain  and  the 
sunshine  are  to  the  growth  of  the  oak.  It  is  possi- 
ble that  through  a  neglect  and  grieving  of  the 
Spirit  a  Christian  may  be  of  smaller  stature  in  his 
age  than  he  was  in  his  spiritual  infancy,  his  progress 
being  a  retrogression  rather  than  an  advance.  There- 
fore in  saying  that  sanctification  is  progressive  let 
us  beware  of  concluding  that  it  is  inevitable. 

Moreover,  as  candid  inquirers,  we  must  ask  what 
of  truth  and  of  error  there  may  be  in  the  doctrine 
of  "  instantaneous  sanctification,"  which  many  de- 
vout persons  teach  and  profess  to  have  proved.  If 
the  conception  is  that  of  a  state  of  sinless  perfec- 
tion into  which  the  believer  has  been  suddenly 
lifted  and  of  deliverance  from  a  sinful  nature 
which  has  been  suddenly  eradicated,  we  must  con- 


Il6  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

sider  this  doctrine  as  dangerously  untrue.  But  we 
do  consider  it  possible  that  one  may  experience  a 
great  crisis  in  his  spiritual  life,  in  which  there  is 
such  a  total  self-surrender  to  God  and  such  an  in- 
filling of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  he  is  freed  from  the 
bondage  of  sinful  appetites  and  habits,  and  enabled 
to  have  constant  victory  over  self,  instead  of  suffer- 
ing constant  defeat.  In  saying  this,  what  more  do 
we  affirm  than  is  taught  in  that  scripture :  "  Walk 
in  the  Spirit  and  ye  shall  not  fulfill  the  lust  of  the 
flesh"  (Gal.  5:  16). 

Divine  truth  as  revealed  in  Scripture  seems  often 
to  lie  between  two  extremes.  It  is  emphatically  so  in 
regard  to  this  question.  What  a  paradox  it  is  that 
side  by  side  in  the  Epistle  of  John  we  should  have 
the  strongest  affirmation  of  the  Christian's  sinful- 
ness  :  "  If  we  say  that  we  have  no  sin  we  deceive 
ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us  " ;  and  the  strong- 
est affirmation  of  his  sinlessness  :  "  Whosoever  is 
born  of  God  doth  not  commit  sin,  for  his  seed  remain- 
eth  in  him,  and  he  cannot  sin  because  he  is  born  of 
God"  (i  John  1:853:9).  Now  heresy  means  a 
dividing  or  choosing,  and  almost  all  of  the  gravest 
errors  have  arisen  from  adopting  some  extreme 
statement  of  Scripture  to  the  rejection  of  the  other 
extreme.  If  we  regard  the  doctrine  of  sinless  per- 
fection as  a  heresy,  we  regard  contentment  with  sin- 
ful imperfection  as  a  greater  heresy.  And  we 
gravely  fear  that  many  Christians  make  the  apos- 


THE   COMMUNION   OF  THE  SPIRIT  1 17 

tie's  words,  "  If  we  say  we  have  no  sin  we  deceive 
ourselves,"  the  unconscious  justification  for  a  low 
standard  of  Christian  living.  It  were  almost  better 
for  one  to  overstate  the  possibilities  of  sanctifica- 
tion  in  his  eager  grasp  after  holiness,  than  to  under- 
state them  in  his  complacent  satisfaction  with  a 
traditional  unholiness.  Certainly  it  is  not  an  edi- 
fying spectacle  to  see  a  Christian  worldling  throw- 
ing stones  at  a  Christian  perfectionist. 

What  then  would  be  a  true  statement  of  the 
doctrine  which  we  are  considering,  one  which  would 
embrace  both  extremes  of  statement  as  they  appear 
in  the  Epistle  of  John  ?  Sinful  in  self,  sinless  in 
Christ — is  our  answer  :  "  In  him  is  no  sin  ;  whoso- 
ever abideth  in  him  sinneth  not"  (i  John  3  :  5,6). 
If  through  the  communication  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
the  life  of  Christ  is  constantly  imparted  to  us,  that 
life  will  prevail  within  us.  That  life  is  absolutely 
sinless,  as  incapable  of  defilement  as  the  sunbeam 
which  has  its  fount  and  origin  in  the  sun.  In  pro- 
portion to  the  closeness  of  our  abiding  in  him  will 
be  the  completeness  of  our  deliverance  from  sin- 
ning. And  we  doubt  not  that  there  are  Christians 
\\  ho  have  yielded  themselves  to  God  in  such  abso- 
lute surrender,  and  who  through  the  upholding 
power  of  the  Spirit  have  been  so  kept  in  that  con- 
dition of  surrender,  that  sin  has  not  had  dominion 
over  them.  If  in  them  the  war  between  the  flesh 
and  the  spirit  has  not  been  forever  ended,  there  has 


Il8  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

been  present  victory  in  which  troublesome  sins  have 
ceased  from  their  assaults,  and  "the  peace  of  God  " 
has  ruled  in  the  heart. 

But  sinning  is  one  thing  and  a  sinful  nature  is 
another ;  and  we  see  no  evidence  in  Scripture  that 
the  latter  is  ever  eradicated  completely  while  we  are 
in  the  body.  If  we  could  see  ourselves  with  God's 
eye,  we  should  doubtless  discover  sinfulness  lying 
beneath  our  most  joyful  moments  of  unsinning  con- 
duct, and  the  stain  of  our  old  and  fallen  nature  so 
discoloring  our  whitest  actions  as  to  convince  us 
that  we  are  not  yet  faultless  in  his  presence.  Only 
let  us  gladly  emphasize  this  fact,  that  as  we  inherit 
from  Adam  a  nature  incapable  of  sinlessness,  we 
inherit  from  Christ  a  nature  incapable  of  sinfulness. 
Therefore,  it  is  written :  "  Whosoever  is  born  of 
God  cannot  sin,  for  his  seed  remaineth  in  him." 
It  is  not  the  nature  of  the  new  nature  to  sin ;  it  is 
not  the  law  of  "  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life "  to 
transgress.  For  the  new-born  man  to  do  evil  is  to 
transgress  the  law  of  his  nature  as  before  it  was 
to  obey  it.  In  a  word,  before  our  regeneration  we 
lived  in  sin  and  loved  it;  since  our  regeneration  we 
may  lapse  into  sin  but  we  loathe  it. 

3.  The  Spirit  of  Glory :  Our  Transfiguration, 
"  The  Spirit  of  glory  and  of  God  resteth  upon  you," 
writes  Peter  (i  Peter  4  :  14).  Let  us  recall  this 
apostle's  habit  of  dividing  the  stages  of  redemption 
into  these  two,  "the  sufferings  of  Christ  and  the 


THE  COMMUNION  OF  THE  SPIRIT          Iig 

glory  that  should  follow,"  in  which  he  seems  to 
conceive  of  our  Lord's  mystical  body,  the  church, 
as  passing  through  and  reproducing  the  twofold 
experience  of  its  Head,  in  humiliation  and  in  sub- 
sequent exaltation.  Even  in  the  time  of  her 
humiliation  she  has  the  Spirit  of  glory  abiding  on 
her,  as  the  cloud  of  glory  rested  down  upon  the 
tabernacle  in  the  wilderness  during  all  the  pilgrim- 
age of  the  children  of  Israel.  And  is  not  Peter's 
saying  the  same  as  Paul's,  in  his  picture  of  the 
suffering  creation :  "  But  ourselves  also,  which 
have  the  first-fruits  of  the  Spirit,  even  we  our- 
selves groan  within  ourselves,  waiting  for  the  adop- 
tion, to  wit,  the  redemption  of  our  body  "  (Rom. 
8  :  23).  Not  yet  have  we  reached  the  consumma- 
tion of  our  hope,  at  the  "appearing  of  the  glory  of 
our  great  God  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  "  (Titus 
2  :  13,  R.  V.) ;  but  the  Spirit,  through  whose  inwork- 
ing  power  this  great  change  is  to  be  wrought,  already 
dwells  in  us,  giving  us  by  his  present  quickening 
the  pledge  and  earnest  of  our  final  glory.  And  so 
we  read  in  another  Scripture  :  "  But  if  the  Spirit  of 
him  that  raised  up  Jesus  from  the  dead  dwell  in  you, 
he  that  raised  up  Christ  from  the  dead  shall  also 
quicken  your  mortal  bodies  by  his  Spirit  that  dwell- 
eth  in  you"  (Rom.  8  :  n).  It  is  not  our  dead  bodies 
which  are  here  spoken  of  as  the  objects  of  the 
Spirit's  quickening,  but  our  mortal  bodies — bodies 
liable  to  death  and  doomed  to  death  if  the  Lord 


120  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

tarry,  but  not  yet  having  experienced  death.  Hence 
the  quickening  referred  to  has  to  do  rather  with  the 
vivifying  of  the  living  saints  than  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead  saints. 

Of  course  the  consummation  of  this  vivifying  is 
at  the  Lord's  coming,  when  those  who  have  died 
shall  be  raised,  and  those  who  are  alive  shall  be 
transfigured ;  but  because  of  the  Spirit  of  life 
dwelling  in  us,  who  shall  say  that  the  process  has 
not  even  now  begun  ?  To  explain  :  "  Behold  I 
shew  you  a  mystery,"  says  Paul ;  "  we  shall  not  all 
sleep,  but  we  shall  all  be  changed,  in  a  moment,  in 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the  last  trump  "  (i  Cor. 
15  :  51,  52).  That  is,  as  at  Christ's  coming  the  dead 
saints  will  be  raised,  so  the  living  saints  will  be 
translated  without  seeing  death.  A  change  will 
come  to  them,  so  far  as  we  can  understand,  like 
that  which  came  to  Jesus  at  his  resurrection — the 
body  glorified,  all  of  mortal  and  earthly  belonging 
to  it  by  nature  eliminated  in  an  instant,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  so  completely  transforming  and  immor- 
talizing it  that  it  shall  become  perfectly  fashioned 
to  the  likeness  of  Christ's  glorified  body.  But 
having  the  Spirit  dwelling  in  us  we  have,  even  now, 
the  first-fruits  of  this  transformation  in  the  daily 
renewing  of  our  inward  man,  in  the  helping  and 
healing  and  strengthening  which  sometimes  comes 
to  our  bodies  through  the  hidden  life  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Sanctification  is  progressive,  waiting  to  be 


THE  COMMUNION   OF  THE  SPIRIT          121 

consummated  in  the  future;  so  is  glorification  in 
some  sense  progressive,  since  by  the  presence  of 
the  Spirit  we  already  have  the  earnest  of  the  glory 
that  is  to  be.  As  Edward  Irving  beautifully  states 
it,  condensing  his  language  :  "  As  sickness  is  sin 
apparent  in  the  body,  the  presentiment  of  death, 
the  forerunner  of  corruption,  and  as  disease  of 
every  kind  is  mortality  begun,  so  the  quickening  of 
our  mortal  bodies  by  the  inward  inspiration  of  the 
Spirit  is  the  resurrection  forestalled,  redemption 
anticipated,  glory  begun  in  our  humiliation." 

When  is  sanctification  completed  ?  At  death,  is 
the  answer  which  we  find  given  in  some  creeds  and 
manuals  of  theology.  This  may  be  true ;  but  we 
say  it  not,  because  the  Scripture  saith  it  not.  So 
far  as  we  can  infer  from  the  word  of  God  the  date 
of  our  sanctification  or  perfection  in  holiness  is 
definitely  fixed  at  the  appearing  of  the  Lord  "  a 
second  time  without  sin  unto  salvation."  Our 
sanctification,  now  going  on,  is  glory  begun  in  us  ; 
our  glorification  then  ushered  in  will  be  glory  com- 
pleted in  us.  The  Spirit  of  glory  now  working  in 
us  brings  forward  and  already  works  within  us  the 
beginning  of  the  perfect  life.  Because  we  have 
been  made  "partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost"  we 
have  thereby  "  tasted  the  powers  of  the  age  to 
come  "  (Heb.  6  :  4,  5,  R.  V.),  that  age  of  complete 
deliverance  from  sin  and  sickness  and  death.  But  at 
most  we  have  only  tasted  as  yet ;  we  have  not 

L 


122  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

drunk  fully  into  the  fountain  of  immortal  life.  It 
is  at  Christ's  advent  that  this  blessed  consumma- 
tion is  fixed  :  "  To  the  end  he  may  establish  your 
hearts  unblamable  in  holiness  before  our  God  and 
Father  at  tJie  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  with  all  his 
saints"  (i  Thess.  3  :  13,  R.  V.).  Not  simply  blame- 
less but  faultless,  seems  to  be  the  condition  here 
foretold,  since  it  is  unblamable  in  the  sphere  and 
element  of  holiness. 

And  with  this  agrees  another  text  in  the  same 
epistle :  "And  the  God  of  peace  himself  sanctify  you 
wholly ;  and  may  your  spirit  and  soul  and  body  be 
preserved  entire  without  blame  at  the  coming  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ"  (i  Thess.  5  123,  R.  V.). 
The  time  appointed  for  the  consummation  of  this 
blameless  wholeness  is  at  the  Saviour's  advent  in 
glory.  And  how  suggestive  the  order  maintained 
in  naming  the  threefold  man :  "  Your  spirit,  soul, 
and  body."  Our  sanctification  moves  from  within 
outward.  It  begins  with  the  spirit,  which  is  the 
holy  of  holies ;  the  Spirit  of  God  acting  first  on 
the  spirit  of  man  in  renewing  grace,  then  upon  the 
soul,  till  at  last  it  reaches  the  outer  court  of  the 
body,  at  the  resurrection  and  translation.  When 
the  body  is  glorified,  then  only  will  sanctification  be 
consummated,  for  then  only  will  the  whole  man, 
spirit,  soul,  and  body,  have  come  under  the  Spirit's 
perfecting  power. 

We  may  see  the  difference  between  progressive 


THE  COMMUNION  OF  THE  SPIRIT          123 

sanctification  and  perfected  sanctification,  or  glori- 
fication, by  comparing  familiar  texts.  One  already 
has  been  quoted  in  this  chapter  :  "  We  all,  behold- 
ing as  in  a  glass  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  are  changed 
into  the  same  image  from  glory  to  glory,  even 
as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord"  (2  Cor.  3:18).  Here 
are  degrees  of  progress  "from  glory  to  glory," 
and  it  is  a  progress  in  the  glorified  life — gradual 
conformity  to  the  Lord  of  glory,  through  success- 
ive stages  of  glory,  effected  by  the  Spirit  of  glory. 
The  word-painting  of  the  passage  inevitably  asso- 
ciates it  in  our  thought  with  the  great  transfigura- 
tion experience  of  our  Lord,  when  by  a  kind  of 
rapture  he  was  for  a  little  while  taken  out  of  "  this 
present  evil  age  "  (Gal.  i  :  4),  and  translated  into 
"  the  age  to  come,"  and  made  to  taste  of  its  powers 
as  he  appeared  in  glory"  (Heb.  6  :  5,  R.  V.).  So 
says  the  apostle  :  "  Be  not  fashioned  according  to 
this  age,  but  be  ye  transformed  by  the  renewing  of 
your  minds  "  (Rom.  12  :  2,  R.  V.).  That  is,  by  his 
inward  transformation  the  Holy  Spirit  is  to  be  daily 
repeating  in  us  the  Lord's  glorification,  separating 
us  from  the  present  age  of  sin  and  death  and  as- 
similating us  to  the  age  to  come,  with  its  resurrec- 
tioi  triumph  and  its  perfected  restoration  to  God, 
when  we  shall  be  presented  "faultless  before  the 
presence  of  his  glory  with  exceeding  joy"  (Jude  24). 
This  is  our  step-by-step  advancement  into  a  predes- 
tined inheritance ;  and  it  must  for  the  present  be 


124  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

step  by  step.  "  Of  his  fullness  have  all  we  received," 
but  we  can  appropriate  that  fullness  only  "grace 
by  grace"  (John  I  :  16).  Of  his  righteousness  we 
have  all  been  made  partakers,  but  we  only  advance 
in  its  possession  "  from  faith  to  faith  "  (Rom.  i  : 
17).  Even  in  passing  through  the  valley  of  Baca 
we  can  make  it  a  place  of  springs,  going  "  from 
strength  to  strength"  as  we  appear  "before  God  in 
Zion  "  (Ps.  84  :  6).  Thus  our  growth  in  grace  is 
our  glory  begun ;  but  the  progress  is  like  the 
artist's  slow  and  patient  perfecting  of  his  picture. 
Turn  now  to  another  statement :  "  We  know  that 
if  he  shall  be  manifested  we  shall  be  like  him,  for 
we  shall  see  him  even  as  he  is  "  (i  John  3  :  2,  R.  V.). 
Whatever  difficulty  may  arise  from  another  transla- 
tion of  this  passage,  one  thought  seems  to  be 
taught  in  the  entire  connection,  viz.,  that  the  un- 
veiled manifestation  of  God  will  bring  the  full  per- 
fection of  his  saints.  Thus  Alford  sums  up  the 
meaning  of  the  passage.  As  the  believer,  having 
by  a  knowledge  of  God  been  regenerated,  "  becomes 
more  and  more  like  God,  having  his  seed  in  him,  so 
the  full  and  perfect  accomplishment  of  this  knowl- 
edge in  the  actual  fruition  of  God  himself  must  of 
necessity  bring  with  it  entire  likeness  to  God."  In 
a  word,  it  seems  to  us  that  the  sanctification  taking 
place  at  the  manifestation  of  our  incarnate  Lord 
will  be  as  the  instantaneous  photograph  compared 
with  the  Spirit's  slow  and  patient  limning  of  the 


THE  COMMUNION  OF  THE  SPIRIT          125 

image  of  Christ  in  our  present  state.  "  In  a 
moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,"  "  we  shall  be 
changed"  (i  Cor.  15  :  52).  Then  the  glorified 
body  and  the  glorified  spirit,  long  divorced  by  sin, 
will  be  remarried.  So  long  as  this  twain  are  sepa- 
rated by  death,  or  are  at  war  in  our  present  earthy 
life,  our  perfection  in  holiness  were  impossible. 

It  is  because  the  resurrection  and  translation  of 
the  saints  are  instantaneous  that  we  affirm  sanctifi- 
cation  to  be  instantaneous  at  the  coming  of  the 
Lord.  The  Scripture  is  always  harmonious  with 
itself,  however  widely  separated  the  writers  of  its 
books  by  time  or  distance.  David  struck  the  same 
joyful  note  with  John,  though  the  learned  may 
insist  that  he  did  not  know  of  the  resurrection. 
"  As  for  me,  I  shall  behold  thy  face  in  righteous- 
ness " — the  seeing  him  as  he  is  and  being  made  fit 
to  see  him.  "  I  shall  be  satisfied  when  I  awake  in 
thy  likeness  " — the  conformity  to  the  Divine  image 
at  the  instant  sound  of  the  resurrection  trump. 
(Ps.  17  :  15.)  Perhaps  we  may  conjecture  wherein 
will  consist  the  perfection  of  the  resurrection  state. 
We  may  find  it  in  that  one  saying  :  "  It  is  raised 
a  spiritual  body  "  (i  Cor.  I  5  :  44).  Now,  how  often 
the  body  dominates  the  spirit,  making  it  do  what  it 
would  not ;  but  then,  the  spirit  will  dominate  the 
body,  making  it  do  as  it  will.  In  a  house  divided 
against  itself  there  can  be  neither  perfection  nor 
peace.  Such  is  the  condition  in  our  present  state 


126  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

of  humiliation.  And  not  the  body  alone,  but  the 
immaterial  within  us  may  be  at  war  with  the  divine. 
What  does  the  Apostle  Jude  mean  in  his  descrip- 
tion of  certain  who  separated  themselves,  saying 
that  they  are  "sensual,  having  not  the  Spirit  "  (Jude 
19).  The  soul,  the  middle  factor  in  the  man,  if 
we  may  say  so,  instead  of  being  in  alliance  with 
our  higher  nature,  the  spirit,  takes  sides  with  the 
lower,  the  flesh,  so  that  instead  of  being  spiritual 
we  become  "  earthly,  sensual,  devilish "  (James 
3:15).  The  whole  man  must  be  presented  blame- 
less at  the  coming  of  the  Lord  before  we  can  enter 
upon  a  state  of  blessed  perfection.  Our  spirit 
must  not  only  rule  our  soul  and  our  body,  but  both 
these  must  be  subject  to  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God. 
Dimly  and  imperfectly  do  we  thus  image  to  our- 
selves the  perfection  of  our  "  spiritual  body."  Now 
the  body  bears  the  spirit,  a  slow  chariot,  whose 
wheels  are  often  disabled,  and  whose  swiftest  motion 
is  but  labored  and  tardy.  Then  the  spirit  will  bear 
the  body,  carrying  it  as  on  wings  of  thought  whither- 
soever it  will.  The  Holy  Ghost,  by  his  divine  in- 
working  will,  has  completed  in  us  the  Divine  like- 
ness, and  perfected  over  us  the  Divine  dominion. 
The  human  body  will  now  be  in  sovereign  subjection 
to  the  human  spirit,  and  the  human  spirit  to  the 
divine  Spirit,  and  God  will  be  all  and  in  all. 


VII 


THE  ADMINISTRATION   OF  THE 
SPIRIT 


"  The  Holy  Ghost  from  the  day  of  Pentecost  has  occupied 
an  entirely  new  position.  The  whole  administration  of  the 
an'airs  of  the  Church  of  Christ  has  since  that  day  devolved 
upon  him.  .  .  That  day  was  the  installation  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  as  the  Administrator  of  the  Church  in  all  things, 
which  office  he  is  to  exercise  according  to  circumstances  at 
his  discretion.  It  is  as  vested  with  such  authority  that  he 
gives  his  name  to  this  dispensation.  .  .  There  is  but  one 
other  great  event  to  which  the  Scripture  directs  us  to  look, 
and  that  is  the  second  coming  of  the  Lord.  Till  then  we 
live  in  the  Pentecostal  age  and  under  the  rule  of  the  Holy 
Ghost." — James  Elder  Gumming,  D.  D. 


VII 

THE    ADMINISTRATION    OF    THE     SPIRIT 

'"THE  Holy  Spirit,  as  coming  down  to  fill  the  place 
J-  of  the  ascended  Redeemer,  has  rightly  been 
called  "The  Vicar  of  Jesus  Christ."  To  him  the 
entire  administration  of  the  church  has  been  com- 
mitted until  the  Lord  shall  return  in  glory.  His 
oversight  extends  to  the  slightest  detail  in  the  or- 
dering of  God's  house,  holding  all  in  subjection  to 
the  will  of  the  Head,  and  directing  all  in  harmony 
with  the  divine  plan.  How  clearly  this  comes  out 
in  that  passage  in  the  twelfth  chapter  of  First 
Corinthians.  As  in  striking  a  series  of  concentric 
circles  there  is  always  one  fixed  center  holding  each 
circumference  in  defined  relation  to  itself,  so  here 
we  see  all  the  "  diversities  of  administrations  "  de- 
termined by  the  one  Administrator,  the  Holy  Ghost. 
"Varieties  of  gifts,  but  the  same  Spirit" ;  "diversi- 
ties of  working,  but  the  same  God" ;  different 
words  "according  to  the  same  Spirit" ;  "gifts  of 
faith  in  the  same  Spirit" ;  "gifts  of  healing  in  the 
one  Spirit" ;  miracles,  prophecies,  tongues,  inter- 
pretations, "  but  all  these  worketh  the  one  and  the 
same  Spirit,  dividing  to  each  one  severally  as  he 
will."  Whether  the  authority  of  this  one  ruling  sov- 

129 


130  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

ereign  Holy  Ghost  be  recognized  or  ignored  deter- 
mines whether  the  church  shall  be  an  anarchy  or  a 
unity,  a  synagogue  of  lawless  ones  or  the  temple  of 
the  living  God. 

Would  one  desire  to  find  the  clue  to  the  great 
apostasy  whose  dark  eclipse  now  covers  two- thirds 
of  nominal  Christendom,  here  it  is — the  rule  and 
authority  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ignored  in  the  church ; 
the  servants  of  the  house  assuming  mastery  and 
encroaching  more  and  more  on  the  prerogatives  of 
the  Head,  till  at  last  one  man  sets  himself  up  as 
the  administrator  of  the  church,  and  daringly 
usurps  the  name  of  "  The  Vicar  of  Christ."  When 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  speaking  by  Paul,  would 
picture  the  mystery  of  lawlessness  and  the  culmina- 
tion of  apostasy,  he  gives  us  a  description  which 
none  should  misunderstand :  "  So  that  he,  as  God, 
sitteth  in  the  temple  of  God,  shewing  himself  that 
he  is  God  "  (2  Thess.  2  :  4).  What  is  the  temple  of 
God  ?  The  church  without  a  question :  "  Know 
ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple  of  God,  and  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you?"  (i  Cor.  3  :  16). 
Whose  prerogative  is  it  to  sit  there?  The  Holy 
Ghost's,  its  ruler  and  administrator,  and  his  alone, 

When  Christ,  our  Paraclete  with  the  Father, 
entered  upon  his  ministry  on  high,  we  are  told 
more  than  a  score  of  times  that  he  "  sat  down  at 
the  right  hand  of  God."  Henceforth  heaven  is  his 
official  seat,  until  he  returns  in  power  and  great  glory. 


THE   ADMINISTRATION   OK   THE  SPIRIT     131 

When  he  sent  down  another  Paraclete  to  abide 
with  us  for  the  age,  he  took  his  seat  in  the  church, 
the  temple  of  God,  there  to  rule  and  to  administer 
till  the  Lord  returns.  There  is  but  one  "Holy 
See "  upon  earth :  that  is,  the  seat  of  the  Holy 
One  in  the  church,  which  only  the  Spirit  of  God 
can  occupy  without  the  most  daring  blasphemy.  It 
becomes  all  true  believers  to  look  well  to  that  pic- 
ture of  one  "  sitting  in  the  temple  of  God,"  and  to 
read  the  lesson  which  it  teaches.  We  may  have  no 
temptation  toward  the  papacy,  which  thrusts  a  man 
into  the  seat  of  the  Holy  Ghost,1  or  toward  clerisy 
which  obtrudes  an  order  of  ecclesiastics — arch- 
bishops, cardinals,  and  archdeacons  into  that  sa- 
cred place ;  but  let  us  remember  that  a  democracy 
may  be  guilty  of  the  same  sin  as  a  hierarchy,  in 
settling  solemn  issues  by  a  "  show  of  hands,"  in- 
stead of  prayerfully  waiting  for  the  guidance  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  in  substituting  the  voice  of  a 

1  Of  course  Catholic  writers  claim  that  the  pope  is  the  "  Vicar  of 
Christ "  only  as  being  the  mouth-piece  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  But  the 
Spirit  has  been  given  to  the  church  as  a  whole,  that  is  to  the  body  of 
regenerated  believers,  and  to  every  member  of  that  body  according  to 
his  measure.  The  sin  of  sacerdotalism  is,  that  it  arrogates  for  a 
usurping  few  that  which  belongs  to  every  member  of  Christ's  mystical 
body.  It  is  a  suggestive  fact  that  the  name  <cAJ)po«,  which  Peter  gives 
to  the  church  as  the  "  flock  of  God,"  when  warning  the  elders  against 
being  lords  over  God's  heritage,  now  appears  in  ecclesiastical  usage 
as  the  clergy,  with  its  orders  of  pontiff  and  prelates  and  lord  bish- 
ops, whose  appointed  function  it  is  to  exercise  lordship  over  Christ's 
flock. 


132  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

majority  for  the  voice  of  the  Spirit.  Of  course, 
in  speaking  thus  we  concede  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
makes  known  his  will  in  the  voice  of  believers,  as 
also  in  the  voice  of  Scripture.  Only  there  must  be 
such  prayerful  sanctifying  of  the  one  and  such 
prayerful  search  of  the  other,  that  in  reaching 
decisions  in  the  church  there  may  be  the  same  de- 
claration as  in  the  first  Christian  council :  "  It 
seemed  good  to  the  Holy  Ghost  and  to  us  "  (Acts 
15:28). 

In  some  very  profound  teaching  in  2  Cor.  3  we 
seem  to  have  a  hint  as  to  how  we  hear  the  voice  of 
the  Lord  in  guiding  the  affairs  of  the  church.  There 
the  administration  (8iaz<iv(a)  of  the  Spirit  is  distinctly 
spoken  of  in  contrast  with  the  administration  of 
the  law.  Its  deliverances  are  written  "not  with 
ink,  not  in  tables  of  stone,  but  in  the  tables  that 
are  the  hearts  of  flesh,  with  the  Spirit  of  the 
living  God"  (R.  V.).  There  must  be  a  sensitive 
heart  wherein  this  handwriting  may  be  inscribed ; 
an  unhindering  will  through  which  he  may  act. 
"  Where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty," 
it  is  written  in  the  same  passage ;  liberty  for  God 
to  speak  and  act  as  he  will  through  us,  which 
begets  loyalty ;  not  liberty  for  us  to  act  as  we  will, 
which  begets  lawlessness. 

To  us  there  is  something  exceedingly  suggestive 
in  the  teaching  of  the  Lord's  post-ascension  gospel, 
the  Revelation,  on  this  point.  The  epistles  to  the 


THE   ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT     133 

seven  churches  we  hold,  with  many  of  the  best 
commentators,  to  be  a  prophetic  setting  forth  of 
the  successive  stages  of  the  church's  history — its 
declines  and  its  recoveries,  its  failures  and  its  re- 
pentances, from  ascension  to  advent.  And  because 
the  bride  of  Christ  is  perpetually  betrayed  into 
listening  to  false  teachers  and  surrendering  to  the 
guidance  of  evil  counsellors,  the  Lord  is  constantly 
admonishing  her  to  heed  the  voice  of  her  true 
Teacher  and  Guide,  the  Holy  Ghost.  How  forci- 
bly this  admonition  is  introduced  into  the  great 
Apocalyptic  drama !  As  in  the  opening  of  the 
successive  seals,  representing  the  judgments  of  God 
upon  apostate  Christendom,  the  cry  is  repeated, 
"Come"!  "Come"!  "Come"!  "Come"!  (Rev. 
6) — as  though  the  church  under  chastisement  would 
repeatedly  relearn  the  advent  prayer  which  her 
Lord  put  into  her  mouth  in  the  beginning  :  "  Even 
so,  come,  Lord  Jesus,"  so  at  each  stage  of  the 
church's  backsliding  a  voice  is  heard  from  heaven 
saying :  "  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what 
the  Spirit  saith  unto  .the  churches."  It  is  the 
admonition  "of  him  that  hath  the  seven  spirits  of 
God,"  seven  times  addressed  to  his  church  through- 
out her  earthly  history,  calling  her  to  return  from 
her  false  guides  and  misleading  teachers,  and  to 
listen  to  the  voice  of  her  true  Counsellor. 

From  this  general  statement  of  the  administra- 
tion of  the  Holy  Spirit  let  us  now  descend  to  the 

M 


134  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

particular  acts  and  offices  in  which  this  authority  is 
exercised. 

I.  The  Holy  Spirit  in  the  -ministry  and  govern- 
ment of  the  church.  In  speaking  to  the  elders  of 
Ephesus  Paul  says :  "  Take  heed  unto  yourselves, 
and  to  all  the  flock  in  the  which  the  Holy  Ghost 
hath  made  you  bishops,  to  feed  the  church  of  God  " 
(Acts  20  :  28,  R.  V.).  Clearly  in  the  beginning 
bishops  or  pastors  were  given  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
not  by  the  suffrages  of  the  people.  The  office  and 
its  incumbent  were  alike  by  direct  divine  appoint- 
ment. We  find  this  distinctly  set  forth  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Ephesians :  "  When  he  ascended  on 
high,  he  led  captivity  captive,  and  gave  gifts  unto 
men.  .  .  And  he  gave  some  to  be  apostles ;  and  some, 
prophets ;  and  some,  evangelists  ;  and  some,  pastors 
and  teachers ;  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  unto 
the  work  of  ministering,  unto  the  building  up  of 
the  body  of  Christ  "  (Eph.  4  :  8-12,  R.  V.).  The 
ascent  of  the  Lord  and  the  descent  of  the  Spirit 
are  here  exhibited  in  their  necessary  relation.  In 
the  one  event  Christ  took  his  seat  in  heaven  as 
"  Head  over  all  things  to  his  church  "  ;  in  the  other 
the  Holy  Ghost  came  down  to  begin  the  work  of 
"building up  the  body  of  Christ."  Of  course  it  is 
the  Head  who  directs  the  construction  of  the  body, 
as  being  "  fitly  framed  together  it  groweth  into  a 
holy  temple  in  the  Lord";  and  it  is  the  Holy  Ghost 
who  superintends  this  construction  since  "we  are 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT     135 

builded  together  for  an  habitation  of  God  in  the 
Spirit."  Therefore  all  the  offices  through  which 
this  work  is  to  be  carried  on  were  appointed  by 
Christ  and  instituted  through  the  Spirit  whom  he 
sent  down.  Suppose  now  that  men  invent  offices 
which  are  not  named  in  the  inspired  list,  and  set  up 
in  the  church  an  order  of  popes  and  cardinals,  arch- 
bishops and  archdeacons  ?  Is  it  not  a  presumption, 
the  worst  fruit  of  which  is  not  alone  that  it  introduces 
confusion  into  the  body  of  Christ,  but  that  it  begets 
insubordination  to  the  rule  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  But 
suppose,  on  the  other  hand,  that  we  sacredly  main- 
tain those  offices  of  the  ministry  which  have  been 
established  for  permanent  continuance  in  the  church, 
and  yet  take  it  upon  us  to  fill  these  according  to  our 
own  preference  and  will ;  is  this  any  less  an  affront 
to  the  Spirit  ? 

Doubtless  the  mistakes  of  God's  servants,  as 
given  in  Scripture  are  as  truly  designed  for  our 
instruction  and  admonition  as  their  obedient  exam- 
ples. We  think  we  do  not  err  in  finding  such  a 
recorded  warning  in  the  opening  chapter  of  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles.  A  vacancy  had  occurred  in 
the  apostolate.  Standing  up  in  the  upper  room, 
amidst  the  hundred  and  twenty,  Peter  boldly 
affirmed  that  this  vacancy  must  be  filled,  and  of 
the  men  who  had  companied  with  them  during  the 
Lord's  earthly  ministry,  "one  must  be  ordained  to  be 
a  witness  with  us  of  his  resurrection."  But  the  disci- 


136  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

pies  had  hitherto  had  no  voice  in  choosing  apostles. 
The  Lord  had  done  this  of  his  own  sovereign  will : 
"  Have  I  not  chosen  you  twelve  ? "  Now  he  had 
gone  away  into  heaven,  and  his  Administrator  had 
not  yet  arrived  to  enter  upon  his  office-work. 
Surely  if  the  divine  order  was  to  be,  that  having 
"  ascended  on  high  "  he  was  "  to  give  some  apos- 
tles," it  were  better  to  await  the  coming  of  the  Para- 
clete with  his  gifts.  Not  only  so,  but  we  are  per- 
suaded that,  with  Christ  departed  and  the  Holy 
Spirit  not  yet  come,  a  valid  election  of  an  apostle 
were  impossible.  But  in  spite  of  this,  a  nomination 
was  made ;  prayer  was  offered  in  which  the  Lord 
was  asked  to  indicate  which  of  the  candidates  he 
had  chosen ;  and  then  a  vote  having  been  taken, 
Matthias  was  declared  elected.  Is  there  any  indi- 
cation that  this  choice  was  ever  ratified  by  the 
Lord  ?  On  the  contrary,  Matthias  passes  into  ob- 
scurity from  this  time,  his  name  never  again  being 
mentioned.  Some  two  years  subsequent,  the  Lord 
calls  Saul  of  Tarsus ;  he  is  sealed  with  his  Spirit, 
and  certified  by  such  evident  credentials  of  the 
Divine  appointment  that  he  boldly  signs  himself 
"  Paul,  an  apostle,  not  of  men,  neither  by  man,  but 
by  Jesus  Christ  and  God  the  Father"  (Gal.  I  :  i). 

We  believe  that  the  apostolic  office  has  passed 
away,  the  qualification  therefor,  that  of  having  been 
a  witness  of  the  Lord's  resurrection,  being  now  im- 
possible. But  the  office  of  pastor,  elder,  bishop,  or 


THE   ADMINISTRATION   OF  THE  SPIRIT     137 

teacher  of  the  flock  still  remains.  And  the  divine 
plan  is  that  this  office  should  be  filled,  just  as  in 
the  beginning,  by  the  appointment  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Nor  can  we  doubt  that  if  there  is  a  pray- 
erful waiting  upon  him  for  guidance,  and  a  sancti- 
fied submission  to  his  will  when  it  is  made  known,  he 
mil  now  choose  pastors  and  set  them  over  their 
appointed  flocks  just  as  manifestly  as  he  did  in  the 
beginning.  Very  beautiful  is  the  picture  in  Revela- 
tion of  the  glorified  Lord,  moving  among  the  candle- 
sticks. There  are  "seven  golden  candlesticks" 
now,  not  one  only  as  in  the  Jewish  temple.  The 
Church  of  God  is  manifold,  not  a  unit.1  He  who 
"  walketh  in  the  midst  of  the  seven  golden  candle- 
sticks "  "holdeth  the  seven  stars  in  his  right  hand." 
These  stars  are  "  the  angels  of  the  seven  churches  " 
— their  ministers  or  bishops  as  generally  understood. 
The  Lord  holds  them  in  his  right  hand.  Does  he 
not  require  us  to  ask  of  him  alone  for  their  be- 
stowal ?  Yes.  "  Pray  ye  therefore  the  Lord  of  the 
harvest,  that  he  would  send  forth  laborers  into  his 
harvest  "  (Luke  10:2).  There  is  no  intimation  in 
Scripture  that  we  are  to  apply  anywhere  but  to  him 
for  the  ministry  of  his  church.  Does  he  not  give 

1  By  the  candlesticks  being  seven  instead  of  one,  as  in  the  taber- 
nacle, we  are  taught  that  whereas  in  the  Jewish  dispensation,  God's 
visible  church  was  one,  in  the  Gentile  dispensation  there  are  many 
visible  churches ;  and  that  Christ  himself  recognizes  them  alike. — 
Canon  Garratt,  "  Commentary  on  the  Revelation"  p.  32. 


138  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

such  ministry,  and  he  alone  ?  Yes.  "  When  he 
ascended  on  high  ...  he  gave  some  .  .  .  pastors 
and  teachers."  And  now,  speaking  to  the  church  in 
Ephesus,  the  elders  of  which,  chosen  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  Paul  had  so  affectionately  exhorted,  he  is  seen 
in  the  attitude  of  Chief-shepherd  and  Bishop — giving 
pastors  with  his  own  hand ;  placing  them  with  his 
own  right  hand,  and  warning  the  church  that  though 
they  have  tried  and  rejected  false  apostles,  they 
have  nevertheless  left  their  "first  love."  Signifi- 
cant word !  On  this  love  our  Lord  conditioned  the 
indwelling  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  through 
the  Holy  Spirit  (John  14  :  23).  Losing  this  the 
peril  becomes  imminent  that  the  candlestick  may 
be  removed  out  of  its  place ;  and  so  the  warning 
is  solemnly  announced :  "  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let 
him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches." 
Without  the  Spirit  the  candlestick  can  shed  forth 
no  light,  and  loses  its  place  of  testimony. 

Dead  churches,  whose  witness  has  been  silenced, 
whose  place  has  been  vacated,  even  though  the  life- 
less form  remains,  have  we  not  seen  such  ?  And 
what  is  the  safeguard  against  them,  if  not  that 
found  in  the  apostle's  warning :  "  Quench  not  the 
Spirit  ? "  The  voice  of  the  Lord  must  be  heard  in 
his  church,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost  alone  has  been 
committed  the  prerogative  of  communicating  that 
voice.  Is  there  any  likelihood  that  that  voice  will 
be  heard  when  the  king  or  prime  minister  of  a  civil 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT     139 

government  holds  the  sole  function  of  appointing 
the  bishops,  as  in  the  case  of  State  churches  ?  Is 
there  any  certainty  of  it  when  an  archbishop  or 
bishop  puts  pastors  over  flocks  by  the  action  of  his 
single  will  ?  We  may  congratulate  ourselves  that 
we  are  neither  in  a  State  church  nor  under  an  epis- 
copal bishop  ;  but  there  are  methods  of  ignoring  or 
repressing  the  voice  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which 
though  simpler  and  far  less  apparent  than  those  just 
indicated,  are  no  less  violent.  The  humble  and 
godly  membership  of  the  little  church  may  turn  to 
some  pastor,  after  much  prayer  and  waiting  on  God 
for  the  Spirit's  guidance,  and  the  signs  of  the  divine 
choice  may  be  clearly  manifest ;  when  some  pulpit 
committee,  or  some  conclave  of  "leading  brethren," 
vetoes  their  action  on  the  ground,  perchance,  that 
the  candidate  is  not  popular  and  will  not  draw. 
Alas  !  for  the  little  flock  so  lorded  over  that  the 
voice  of  the  Holy  Ghost  cannot  be  heard. 

And  majorities  are  no  more  to  be  depended  upon 
than  minorities,  if  there  is  in  both  cases  a  neglect 
of  patient  and  prolonged  waiting  upon  the  Lord  to 
know  his  will.  Of  what  value  is  a  "  show  of  hands  " 
unless  his  are  stretched  out  "  who  holdeth  the  seven 
stars  in  his  right  hand  ? "  Of  what  use  is  a  viva 
voce  choice,  except  the  living  voice  of  Christ  be 
heard  speaking  by  his  Spirit  ?  One  may  object 
that  we  are  holding  up  an  ideal  which  is  impossible 
to  be  realized.  It  is  a  difficult  ideal  we  admit,  as 


140  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

the  highest  attainments  are  always  difficult ,  but  it 
is  not  an  impossible  one.  It  is  easier  to  recite  our 
prayers  from  a  book  than  to  read  them  from  the 
tab.es  of  a  prepared  heart,  where  the  finger  of  the 
Spirit  has  silently  written  them ;  but  the  more 
difficult  way  is  the  more  acceptable  way  to  him  who 
seeks  for  worshipers  who  "  worship  in  Spirit  and  in 
truth."  It  is  easier  to  get  "  the  .sense  of  the  meet- 
ing "  in  choosing  a  pastor  than  to  learn  "  the  mind 
of  the  Spirit  "  by  patient  tarrying  and  humble  sur- 
render to  God ;  but  the  more  laborious  way  will 
certainly  prove  the  more  profitable  way.  The  fail- 
ure to  take  this  way  is,  we  are  persuaded,  the  cause 
of  more  decay  and  spiritual  death  in  the  churches 
than  we  have  yet  imagined.  From  the  watch- 
tower  where  we  write  we  can  look  out  on  half  a 
score  of  churches  on  which  "  Ichabod "  has  been 
evidently  written,  and  the  glory  of  which  has  long 
since  departed.  They  were  founded  in  prayer  and 
consecration,  "to  serve  the  living  and  true  God, 
and  to  wait  for  his  Son  from  heaven."  Why  has 
their  light  been  extinguished,  though  the  lampstand 
which  once  bore  it  still  remains,  adorned  and  beau- 
tified with  all  that  the  highest  art  and  architecture 
can  suggest  ?  Their  history  is  known  to  him  who 
walks  among  the  golden  candlesticks.  What  violence 
may  have  been  done,  by  headstrong  self-will,  to  him 
who  is  called  "  the  Spirit  of  counsel  and  might"  ? 
What  rejection  of  the  truth  which  he,  "  the  Spirit 


THE   ADMINISTRATION   OF  THE  SPIRIT     141 

of  truth,"  has  appointed  for  the  faith  of  God's 
church  till  at  last  the  word  has  been  spoken: 
"Ye  do  always  resist  the  Holy  Ghost;  as  your 
fathers  did,  so  do  ye."  Is  it  only  Jewish  worshipers 
to  whom  these  words  apply  ?  Is  it  only  a  Jewish 
temple  of  which  this  sentence  is  true:  "Behold 
your  house  is  left  unto  you  desolate  "  ?  The  Spirit 
will  not  be  entirely  withdrawn  from  the  body  of 
Christ  indeed,  but  there  is  the  Church,  and  there 
are  churches.  A  man  may  yet  live  and  breathe 
when  cell  after  cell  has  been  closed  by  congestion 
till  at  last  he  only  inhales  and  exhales  with  a  little 
portion  of  one  lung.  Let  him  that  readeth  under- 
stand. 

The  Spirit  is  the  breath  of  God  in  the  body  of 
his  church.  While  that  divine  body  survives  and 
must,  multitudes  of  churches  have  so  shut  out  the 
Spirit  from  rule  and  authority  and  supremacy  in  the 
midst  of  them  that  the  ascended  Lord  can  only  say 
to  them  :  "  Thou  hast  a  name  to  live  and  art  dead." 
In  a  word,  so  vital  and  indispensable  is  the  ministry 
of  the  Spirit,  that  without  it  nothing  else  will  avail. 
Some  trust  in  creeds,  and  some  in  ordinances; 
some  suppose  that  the  church's  security  lies  in  a 
sound  theology,  and  others  locate  it  in  a  primitive 
simplicity  of  government  and  worship ;  but  it  lies 
in  none  of  these,  desirable  as  they  are.  The  body 
may  be  as  to  its  organs  perfect  and  entire,  wanting 
nothing;  but  simply  because  the  Spirit  has  been 


142  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

withdrawn  from  it,  it  has  passed  from  a  church  into 
a  corpse.  As  one  has  powerfully  stated  it :  "  When 
the  Holy  Spirit  withdraws,  ...  he  sometimes  al- 
lows the  forms  which  he  has  created  to  remain. 
The  oil  is  exhausted,  but  the  lamp  is  still  there ; 
piayer  is  offered  and  the  Bible  read;  church-going 
is  not  given  up,  and  to  a  certain  degree  the  service 
is  enjoyed  ;  in  a  word  religious  habits  are  preserved, 
and  like  the  corpses  found  at  Pompeii,  which  were 
in  a  perfect  state  of  preservation  and  in  the  very 
position  in  which  death  had  surprised  them,  but 
which  were  reduced  to  ashes  by  contact  with  the 
air,  so  the  blast  of  trial,  of  temptation,  or  of  final 
judgment  will  destroy  these  spiritual  corpses."1 

2.  The  Holy  Spirit  in  the  Worship  and  Service 
of  the  Church.  Is  there  anything,  from  highest  to 
lowest,  which  we  are  called  to  do  in  connection  with 
the  worship  of  God's  house,  of  which  the  Holy  Spirit 
is  not  the  appointed  agent  ?  Believers  are  the  in- 
struments indeed  through  which  he  acts  ;  but  they 
have  no  function  apart  from  his  inspiration  and 
guidance,  any  more  than  the  organ-pipe  has  without 
the  wind,  which  breathing  through  it  causes  it  to 
resound.  To  make  this  clear,  we  may  consider  the 
several  parts  of  the  service  of  the  church  as  we  are 
accustomed  to  participate  in  it,  and  observe  their 
relation  to  the  divine  Administrator. 

1  "  The  Work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  Man,"  by  Pastor  G.  F.  Tophel, 
p.  66. 


THE  ADMINISTRATION   OF  THE  SPIRIT     143 

(l)  Preaching  is  by  general  consent  an  important 
factor  of  the  work  of  the  ministry,  both  for  the 
pastor  and  for  the  evangelist.  In  what  consists  its 
inspiration  and  authority  ?  We  "  have  preached  I  he 
gospel  unto  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from 
heaven"  (i  Peter  i  :  12),  is  Peter's  simple  story  of 
the  apostolic  method.  And  the  words  direct  our 
thought  to  the  Spirit  not  as  instrumental  but  as  in- 
spiring. "In  the  Holy  Ghost"  the  words  mean 
literally.  The  true  preacher  does  not  simply  use 
the  Spirit ;  he  is  used  by  the  Spirit.  He  speaks  as 
one  moving  in  the  element  and  atmosphere  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  mastered  by  his  divine  power. 

In  this  fact  the  sermon  differs  immeasurably  from 
the  speech,  and  the  preacher  from  the  orator.  How 
distinctly  Paul  emphasizes  this  contrast  in  his  letter 
to  the  Corinthians  (i  Cor.  2  :  4).  The  sole  sub- 
stance of  his  preaching  he  declares  to  be  "Jesus 
Christ  and  him  crucified,"  and  the  sole  inspiration 
of  his  preaching,  the  Holy  Ghost :  "And  my  speech 
was  not  with  enticing  words  of  man's  wisdom,  but 
in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  power."  What 
did  good  Philip  Henry  mean  by  his  resolve  "to 
preach  Christ  crucified  in  a  crucified  style  "  ?  More 
perhaps  than  he  thought  or  knew.  "He  shall 
testify  of  me,"  is  Jesus'  saying  concerning  the  prom- 
ised Paraclete.  The  Comforter  bears  witness  to 

* 

the  Crucified.     No  other  theme  in  the  pulpit  can 
be  sure  of  commanding  his  co-operation.     Philoso- 


144  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

phy,  poetry,  art,  literature,  sociology,  ethics,  and  his- 
tory are  attractive  subjects  to  many  minds,  and  they 
who  handle  such  themes  in  the  pulpit  may  set  them 
forth  with  alluring  words  of  human  genius ;  but 
there  is  no  certainty  that  the  Holy  Ghost  will 
accompany  their  presentation  with  his  divine  attes- 
t  ition.  The  preaching  of  the  Cross,  in  chastened 
simplicity  of  speech,  has  the  demonstration  of  the 
Spirit  pledged  to  it,  as  no  secular,  or  moral,  or  even 
formal  religious  discourse  has.  And  when  Paul 
writes  to  the  Thessalonians :  "  Our  gospel  came 
not  unto  you  in  word  only,  but  also  in  power  and  in 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  in  much  assurance  "  (i  Thess. 
I  :  5),  we  need  only  to  be  reminded  that  "  our  gos- 
pel "  meant  but  one  thing  to  Paul,  the  setting  forth 
of  Jesus  Christ  crucified  in  the  midst  of  the 
people,  and  we  have  found  the  secret  of  evangel- 
ical power.  Ought  it  not  therefore  to  be  the 
supreme  question  with  the  preacher,  what  themes 
can  assuredly  command  the  witness  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  rather  than  what  topics  will  enlist  the  atten- 
tion of  the  people  ?  Let  us  set  the  popular  preacher 
and  the  apostolic  preacher  side  by  side,  and  consider 
whose  reward  we  would  choose,  universal  admira- 
tion or  "  God  also  bearing  witness,  both  with  signs 
and  wonders  and  with  divers  miracles,  and  gifts  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  according  to  his  will  "  (Heb.  2  :  4) 
— the  sermon  greeted  with  applause  and  the  clap- 
ping of  hands,  or  "  the  word  received  with  joy  of 


THE  ADMINISTRATION   OF  THE  SPIRIT 

the  Holy  Ghost"  (i  Thess.  i  :  6)  ? — admiration  of  the 
preacher  possessing  all  who  listen  to  the  discourse, 
or  "  the  Holy  Ghost  fell  on  all  them  which  heard 
the  word"  (Acts  10  : 44)  ?  Language  cannot  express 
the  vital  moment  of  the  question  which  we  are  here 
discussing.  Our  generation  is  rapidly  losing  its 
grip  upon  the  supernatural ;  and  as  a  consequence 
the  pulpit  is  rapidly  dropping  to  the  level  of  the 
platform.  And  this  decline  is  due,  we  believe,  more 
than  anything  else,  to  an  ignoring  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  as  the  supreme  inspirer  of  preaching.  We 
wish  to  see  a  great  orator  in  the  pulpit,  forgetting 
that  the  least  expounder  of  the  word,  when  filled 
with  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  greater  than  he.  We  want 
the  gospel,  forsooth ;  but  in  the  strenuous  demand 
that  it  be  set  forth  according  to  the  "  spirit  of  the 
age"  we  ignore  the  supremacy  of  the  "Spirit  of 
God."  And  the  method  of  discourse  soon  tells 
upon  the  matter.  We  cannot  very  long  have  the 
truth  in  the  pulpit  after  we  have  lost  "the  Spirit  of 
truth  "  therefrom.  "When  one  possesses  not  the 
whole  of  life,"  says  Vinet,  "he  possesses  not  the 
whole  of  truth." 

In  all  that  we  have  said  we  do  not  ignore  the  human 
element  in  preaching,  nor  undervalue  good  learning 
and  sanctified  mental  training,  as  a  furnishing  for 
this  high  office.  We  only  emphasize  the  extreme 
peril  of  making  that  supreme  which  God  has  made 
subordinate.  As  it  is  genius  which  raises  the  great 

N 


146  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

painter  or  poet  far  above  the  common  man,  so  it  is 
the  Holy  Spirit  which  lifts  the  preacher  far  above 
the  man  of  genius.  A  gifted  artist  spoke  wisely 
when  one,  thinking  only  of  the  implements  of  his 
profession,  asked,  "  With  what  do  you  mix  your 
paints?"  "With  brains,  sir,"  he  replied.  The 
preacher  who  brought  three  thousand  to  believe  on 
a  crucified  Christ,  under  a  single  sermon,  antici- 
pated the  question  of  those  who,  with  an  eye  upon 
the  mere  human  accessories  of  his  sermon,  might 
ask  after  the  secret  of  his  power ;  and  he  unfolds 
that  secret  in  a  single  terse  sentence :  "  With  the 
Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven." 

(2)  Prayer  is  a  most  vital  element  in  the  worship 
of  God's  church.  "  Lord,  teach  us  how  to  pray,  as 
John  also  taught  his  disciples.''  Jesus  complied 
literally  with  this  request  of  his  followers.  As 
John,  under  the  law,  could  only  give  rules  and  rudi- 
ments, not  yet  having  come  to  the  dispensation  of 
grace  and  of  the  Spirit,  so  did  Jesus  give  a  form  of 
prayer,  a  lesson  in  the  "technique  of  worship." 
But  only  when  he  reaches  the  eve  of  his  passion, 
when  he  announces  the  coming  of  the  Comforter, 
does  he  lead  his  disciples  into  the  heart  and  mys- 
tery of  the  great  theme,  teaching  them  to  pray  as 
John  could not  have  taught  his  disciples.  "Hitherto 
ye  have  asked  nothing  in  my  name,"  said  Jesus,  in 
his  paschal  discourse.  But  now  that  he  was  about 
to  enter  into  his  mediatorial  office  at  God's  right 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT     147 

hand,  and  to  send  forth  the  Comforter  into  the 
midst  of  his  disciples,  this  joyful  privilege  was  to 
be  accorded  to  him  :  "  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  the 
Father  in  my  name  he  will  give  it  you  "*  (John 
1 6  :  23).  The  words  are  equivalent  to  "in  me." 
The  thought  is  not  surely  that  of  using  the  name 
of  Jesus  as  a  password  or  as  a  talisman,  but  of 
entering  into  his  person  and  appropriating  his  will ; 
so  that  when  we  pray,  it  shall  be  as  though  Jesus 
himself  stood  in  God's  presence  and  made  interces- 
sion. Nor  is  it  "  as  though  " — it  is  the  literal  fact. 
We  become  identified  with  Christ  through  the  Spirit, 
now  sent  down,  and  his  will  is  wrought  within  us  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  so  that  to  ask  what  we  desire  of 
him  is  to  ask  what  he  desires  for  us.  We  are  in- 
willed  by  his  will,  because  inspired  by  his  Spirit, 
who  lives  and  breathes  within  us.  Therefore  we 
may  know  that  we  are  always  heard,  since  we  are  in 
him  who  can  boldly  say  to  the  Father :  "  I  know  that 
thou  always  hearest  me."  It  is  Christ's  mediator- 
ship  with  the  Father,  and  the  Holy  Ghost's  media- 
torship  with  us,  that  gives  us  this  high  privilege  of 
praying  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  as  it  is  written  :  "  For 
t  hrough  him  we  both  have  access  in  one  Spirit  unto 
the  Father." 

When  therefore,  under  the  fuller  development  of 

1  It  was  impossible  up  to  the  time  of  the  glorification  of  Jesus  to 
pray  to  the  Father  in  his  name.  It  is  a  fullness  of  joy  peculiar  to  the 
dispensation  of  the  Spirit  to  be  able  to  do  so. — Alford. 


148  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

doctrine,  as  found  in  the  epistles,  we  read  of  "  pray- 
ing  always  with  all  prayer  and  supplication  in  the 
Spirit "  (Eph.  6  :  1 8),  and  of  "  praying  in  the  Holy 
Ghost"  (Jude  20),  it  is  simply  an  admonition  to 
use  our  privilege  of  asking  in  the  name  of  Jesus. 
For  to  be  in  the  Spirit  is  to  be  in  Christ,  united  to 
his  person,  identified  with  his  will,  invested  with  his 
righteousness,  so  that  we  are  as  he  is  before  the 
Father. 

In  that  fullest  exposition  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Spirit,  given  in  the  eighth  of  Romans,  we  see 
clearly  that  the  ministry  of  the  Comforter  consists 
in  his  effectuating  in  us  that  which  Christ  is 
accomplishing  for  us  on  the  throne.  Especially  is 
this  true  of  prayer.  In  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
we  read  :  "  Wherefore  also  he  is  able  to  save  to  the 
uttermost  them  that  draw  near  to  God  through 
him,  seeing  he  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for 
them  "  (Heb.  7  :  25,  R.  V.).  In  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans  we  read  :  "  And  in  like  manner  the  Spirit 
also  helpeth  our  infirmity ;  for  we  know  not  how  to 
pray  as  we  ought,  but  the  Spirit  himself  maketh 
intercession  for  us  with  groanings  which  cannot  be 
uttered ;  and  he  that  searcheth  the  hearts  know- 
eth  what  is  the  mind  of  *he  Spirit,  because  he 
maketh  intercession  for  the  saints  according  to  the 
will  of  God"  (Rom.  8  :  26,  27,  R.  V.).  These 
passages,  read  together,  clearly  show  the  Spirit 
doing  the  same  thing  in  us  which  Christ  in  heaven 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT     149 

is  doing  for  us.  And,  moreover,  they  reveal  to  us 
the  method  of  the  glorified  Christ  in  helping  those 
who  know  not  what  to  pray  for  as  they  ought, 
teaching  them,  not  by  an  outward  form,  but  by  an 
inward  guidance.  Indeed,  the  prayer  inspired  by 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  often  so  deep  that  it  cannot  be 
expressed  in  formal  words,  but  reaches  the  ear  of 
the  Father  only  in  unspeakable  yearnings,  in 
unuttered  groanings.  The  keynote  of  all  true 
intercession  is  the  will  of  God.  In  the  disciples' 
prayer,  as  taught  them  by  the  Master,  this  note  is 
distinctly  sounded  :  "  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as 
in  heaven."  In  the  Saviour's  garden-prayer  it  is 
heard  again,  as  with  strong  crying  and  tears  the 
Son  of  God  exclaims  :  "  Not  my  will  but  thine  be 
done "  ;  and  in  the  revelation  of  the  doctrine  of 
prayer  through  an  inspired  apostle  we  read :  "  If 
we  ask  anything  according  to  his  will  he  heareth 
us."  It  is  the  Spirit's  deepest  work  in  the  believei 
to  attune  his  mind  to  this  exalted  key,  as  he 
"  maketh  intercession  for  the  saints  according  to  the 
will  of  God"  There  is  a  promise  which  all  dis- 
ciples love  to  quote  for  their  assurance  in  prayer  : 
"  If  two  of  you  shall  agree  on  earth  as  touching 
anything  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for 
them  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven "  (Matt. 
1 8  :  19).  The  word  translated  "agree"  is  a  very 
suggestive  one.  It  is,  ffutxpujvrjfftuffiv,  from  which  our 
word  "  symphony "  comes.  If  two  shall  accord 


150  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

or  symphonize  in  what  they  ask,  they  have  the 
promise  of  being  heard.  But,  as  in  tuning  an 
organ  all  the  notes  must  be  keyed  to  the  standard 
pitch,  else  harmony  were  impossible,  so  in  prayer. 
It  is  not  enough  that  two  disciples  agree  with  each 
other ;  they  must  both  accord  with  a  Third — the 
righteous  and  holy  Lord — before  in  the  scriptural 
sense  they  can  agree  in  intercession.  There  may 
be  agreement  which  is  in  most  sinful  conflict  with  the 
divine  will :  "How  is  it  that  ye  have  agreed  together 
[ffuv£(/fiovr;07j,  the  same  word]  to  tempt  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  ? "  asks  Peter  (Acts  5  :  9).  Here  is 
mutual  accord,  but  guilty  discord  with  the  Holy 
Ghost.  On  the  contrary  it  is  the  Spirit's  ministry 
to  attune  our  wills  to  the  Divine ;  thus  only  can 
there  be  praying  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 

We  cannot  therefore  emphasize  too  strongly  the 
administration  of  the  Spirit  in  directing  the  wor- 
ship of  God's  house.  The  use  of  liturgical  forms 
is  a  relapse  into  legalism,  a  consent  to  be  taught  to 
pray  as  "John  taught  his  disciples."  True,  there 
may  be  extemporaneous  forms  as  well  as  written 
forms,  praying  by  rote  as  well  as  praying  by  the 
b")ok.  Against  both  habits  we  simply  interpose 
the  higher  teaching  of  the  Spirit,  as  belonging  espe- 
cially to  this  dispensation,  in  which  the  Father 
seeketh  worshipers  who  "  worship  in  Spirit  and 
in  truth."  To  pray  rightly  is  the  highest  of  all 
attainments.  And  it  is  so  because  the  secret  lies 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT     151 

between  these  two  opposites ;  a  spirit  supremely 
active  while  supremely  passive,  a  heart  prevailing 
with  God  because  prevailed  over  by  God.  "  O 
Lord,"  says  a  high  saint,  "my  spirit  was  like  a 
harp  this  morning,  making  melody  before  thee, 
since  thou  didst  first  tune  the  instrument  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  a'nd  then  didst  choose  the  psalm  of 
praise  to  be  played  thereon."  Most  solemn  and 
suggestive  words  these  have  always  seemed  :  "  The 
Father  seeketh  such  to  worship  him."  Amid  all 
the  repetition  of  forms  and  the  chanting  of  litur- 
gies, how  earnestly  the  Most  High  searches  after 
the  spiritual  worshiper,  with  a  heart  inwardly  retired 
before  God,  with  a  spirit  so  sensitive  to  the  hidden 
motions  of  the  Holy  Ghost  that  when  the  lips 
speak  they  shall  utter  the  effectual  inwrought 
prayer  that  availeth  much ! 

If  any  shall  interpose  the  objection  that  what  we 
are  saying  is  too  high  to  be  practical,  it  may  be 
well  to  confirm  our  position  by  the  witness  of  ex- 
perience. We  are  not  speaking  of  pulpit  prayers 
especially,  in  what  we  have  said.  The  universal 
priesthood  of  believers,  which  the  Scriptures  so 
plainly  teach,  constitutes  the  ground  for  common 
intercession,  for  "  the  praying  one  for  another " 
which  is  the  distinctive  feature  of  the  Spirit's  dis- 
pensation The  prayer  meeting,  therefore,  in  which 
the  whole  body  of  believers  participate,  probably 
comes  nearer  the  pattern  of  primitive  Christian 


152  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

worship  than  any  other  service  which  we  hold.  To 
apply  our  principle  here,  then,  what  method  is  found 
most  satisfactory  ?  Shall  the  service  be  arranged 
beforehand,  this  one  selected  to  pray,  and  that  one 
to  exhort ;  and  during  the  progress  of  the  worship, 
shall  such  a  one  be  called  up  to  lead  the  devotions, 
and  such  a  one  to  follow  ?  In  a  word,  shall  the 
service  be  mapped  out  in  advance  and  manipulated 
according  to  the  dictates  of  propriety  and  fitness  as 
it  goes  on  ?  One,  after  many  years  of  experience, 
can  bear  emphatic  testimony  to  the  value  of  another 
way — that  of  magnifying  the  office  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  as  the  conductor  of  the  service,  and  of  so 
withholding  the  pressure  of  human  hands  in  the 
assembly  that  the  Spirit  shall  have  the  utmost  free- 
dom to  move  this  one  to  pray  and  that  one  to  wit- 
ness, this  one  to  sing  and  that  one  "  to  say  amen 
at  our  giving  of  thanks,"  according  to  his  own 
sovereign  will.  Here  we  speak  not  theoretically  but 
experimentally.  The  fervor  and  spirituality  and 
sweet  naturalness  of  the  latter  method  has  been 
demonstrated  beyond  a  peradventure,  and  that  too, 
after  an  extended  trial  of  both  ways,  the  first  in 
ignorance  of  a  better  way,  with  constant  labor  and 
worry  and  fret,  and  the  last  with  inexpressible  ease 
and  comfort  and  spiritual  refreshment.  Honor  the 
Holy  Ghost  as  Master  of  assemblies ;  study  much 
ihe  secret  of  surrender  to  him  ;  cultivate  a  quick 
ear  for  hearing  his  inward  voice  and  a  ready  tongue 


THE  ADMINISTRATION   OF  THE  SPIRIT     153 

for  speaking  his  audible  witness ;  be  submissive  to 
keep  silence  when  he  forbids  as  well  as  to  speak 
when  he  commands,  and  we  shall  learn  how  much 
better  is  God's  way  of  conducting  the  worship  of 
his  house  than  man's  way.1 

(3)  The  service  of  song  in  the  house  of  the  Loid 
is  anotner  element  of  worship  whose  relation  to  the 
Spirit  needs  to  be  strongly  emphasized.  Spiritual 
singing  has  a  divinely  appointed  place  in  the  church 
of  Christ.  Church  music,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of 
that  phrase,  has  no  such  place,  but  is  a  human  in- 
vention which  custom  has,  with  many,  unhappily 
elevated  into  an  ordinance.  We  often  quote  the 
exhortation  of  the  apostle :  "  Be  filled  with  the 
Spirit,"  without  marking  the  practical  service  with 
which  this  fullness  stands  immediately  connected : 
"  Speaking  to  yourselves  in  psalms  and  hymns  and 
spiritual  songs,  singing  and  making  melody  in 
your  heart  to  the  Lord"  (Eph.  5  :  19).  As  imme- 
diately as  prayer  is  connected  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
in  this  same  epistle  :  "  Praying  at  all  seasons  in  the 
Spirit"  -  and  our  edification  in  the  church  :  "Builded 

1  It  were  well  for  us  to  give  more  heed  to  the  voice  of  Christian  his- 
tory as  related  to  such  questions  as  these.  The  rise  of  "  sporadic  sects  " 
like  the  "  Quietists,"  the  "  Mystics,"  the  "  Friends,"  and  the  «  Breth- 
ren,1' with  their  emphasis  on  "  the  still  voice "  and  "  the  inward 
leading,' '  is  very  suggestive.  If  we  may  not  go  so  far  as  some  of 
these  go  in  the  insistence  on  speaking  only  as  sensibly  moved  by  the 
Spirit  we  may  be  admonished  of  the  hard,  artificial  man-made  wor 
ship  which  made  their  protest  necessary. 


154  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

together  in  the  Spirit"  (Eph.  2  :  22,  R.  V.) ;  and  our 
spiritual  energizing :  "  Strengthened  with  power 
through  his  Spirit"  (Eph.  3  :  16,  R.  V.);  and  our 
approach  to  God,  "Access  in  one  Spirit  unto  the 
Father"  (2:18,  R.V.),  so  intimately  is  the  worship  of 
praise  here  connected  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
made  dependent  on  his  power.  Therefore  it  would 
seem  too  obvious  to  need  arguing,  that  an  unregen- 
erate  person  is  disqualified  from  ministering  in  the 
service  of  song  in  God's  house.  Scripturally  this 
seems  incontestable ;  and  as  to  the  teaching  of  expe- 
rience, we  should  hardly  know  how  to  name  any  cus- 
tom which  has  brought  a  sorer  blight  upon  the  life 
of  the  church,  or  a  heavier  repression  upon  its 
spiritual  energy,  than  the  habit,  now  so  general, 
of  introducing  unsanctified,  unconverted,  and  even 
notoriously  worldly  persons  into  the  choirs  of  the 
churches. 

Now  the  teaching  of  the  text  just  cited  is  de- 
cisive, not  only  against  such  performers  hi  choirs, 
but  against  the  choirs  themselves,  if  by  the  latter 
term  is  meant  certain  ones  employed  to  dispense 
music  for  the  delectation  of  the  congregation. 
For  observe  how  distinctly  the  mutual  and  inter- 
congregational  character  of  Christian  singing  is 
here  pointed  out :  "  Speaking  to  one  another  in 
psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs."  The  one 
feature  of  the  worship  of  the  church,  which  distin- 
guishes it  radically  and  totally  from  that  of  the 


THE  ADMINISTRATION   OF  THE  SPIRIT     155 

temple,  is  that  it  is  mutual.  Under  the  law  there 
were  priests  and  Levites  to  minister  and  people  to 
be  ministered  to ;  under  the  gospel  there  is  a  uni- 
versal spiritual  priesthood,  in  which  all  minister  and 
all  are  ministered  to.  Every  act  of  service  belonging 
to  the  Christian  church  is  so  described.  There  must 
be  prayer,  and  the  exhortation  is,  "  Pray  one  for 
another"  (James  5  :  16).  There  must  be  confession, 
and  the  injunction  is  :  "  Confess  your  sins  one  to 
another"  (James  5:  16,  R.  V.).  There  must  be 
exhortation,  and  the  command  is :  "  Exhort  one 
another"  (Heb.  3  :  13).  There  must  be  love,  and  we 
are  enjoined  to  "love  one  another"  (i  Peter  i  :  22). 
There  must  be  burden-bearing,  and  the  exhortation 
is  :  "  Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens  "  (Gal.  6  :  2). 
There  must  be  comforting,  and  the  command  is  : 
"  Wherefore  comfort  one  another  "  (i  Thess.  4:  18). 
So  with  the  .worship  of  song.  Its  reciprocal  char- 
acter is  emphasized,  not  only  in  the  passage  just 
quoted,  but  also  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Colos- 
sians  :  "  Teaching  and  admonishing  one  another  in 
psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs  "  (Col.  3  :  16). 
This  is  according  to  the  clearly  defined  method  of 
the  Spirit  in  this  dispensation.  He  establishes  our 
fellowship  with  the  Head  of  the  church,  and 
through  him  with  one  another.  All  blessing  in 
the  body  is  mutual,  and  the  worship  which  is  or- 
dained to  maintain  and  increase  that  blessing  is 
likewise  mutual. 


156  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

As  now  the  Spirit  is  the  inspirer  and  director  of 
the  worship  of  God's  church,  he  must  have  those 
who  have  been  renewed  and  are  indwelt  by  him- 
self as  the  instruments  through  whom  he  acts  ; 
and  by  a  teaching  of  Scripture  too  clear  to  be  mis- 
understood all  others  are  disqualified.  How  dis- 
tinctly is  this  shown  even  in  the  types  and  symbols 
of  the  old  dispensation.  The  holy  anointing  en- 
joined in  Exodus  for  Aaron  and  his  sons,  is  confess- 
edly a  type  of  the  unction  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  And 
mark  the  rigid  and  sacred  limitations  in  its  use : 
"  And  thou  shalt  anoint  Aaron  and  his  sons,  and 
consecrate  them  that  they  may  minister  unto  me 
in  the  priest's  office.  And  thou  shalt  speak  unto 
the  children  of  Israel,  saying :  This  shall  be  a  holy 
anointing  oil  unto  me  throughout  your  generation. 
Upon  man's  flesh  it  shall  not  be  poured ;  neither 
shall  ye  make  any  other  like  it,  after  the  composi- 
tion of  it ;  it  is  holy,  and  shall  be  holy  unto  you  ; 
whosoever  compoundeth  any  like  it,  or  whoso  put- 
teth  any  of  it  upon  a  stranger,  shall  even  be  cut  off 
from  his  people  "  (Exod.  30  :  30-33). 

Now,  of  these  minute  directions  and  prescribed 
transactions  we  may  say  confidently  that  "they 
happened  unto  them  for  ensamples  and  they  are  writ- 
ten for  our  admonition,  upon  whom  the  ends  of  the 
world  [ages]  are  come  "  (i  Cor.  10  :  1 1).  The  three 
rigid  prohibitions  here  named  touch  just  the  errors 
which  are  most  characteristic  of  the  present  gener- 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THK  SPIRIT     157 

ation.  "  Upon  mans  flesh  it  shall  not  be  poured" ; 
honoring  the  natural  man,  and  exalting  human 
nature  into  that  place  which  belongs  only  to  the  re- 
generate. This  is  the  error  of  those  who  believe 
in  the  universal  sonship  of  the  race,  and  call  the 
carnal  man  divine.  "  Whosoever  putteth  any  of  it 
upon  a  stranger."  This  is  the  sin  of  those  who 
thrust  into  the  ministry  and  service  of  the  church 
persons  who  have  never  by  the  new  birth  through  the 
Spirit  been  brought  into  the  family  of  God,  into  the 
household  of  faith.  "  Whosoever  compoundeth  any 
like  it."  This  is  the  artificial  imitation  of  the  Spirit's 
offices  and  ministration.  Let  the  Christian  reader 
pause  and  ponder  well  this  last  prohibition.  In 
the  story  of  the  primitive  church  sample  sins 
are  given  for  our  warning,  as  well  as  specimen 
graces  for  our  emulation.  One  such  sin,  so  subtle, 
so  dangerous,  and  so  constantly  recurring  in  Chris- 
tian history,  having  taken  the  name  of  its  first 
author  and  being  called  "  simony,"  has  been  handed 
down  from  generation  to  generation.  "  Because 
thou  hast  thought  that  the  gift  of  God  can  be  pur- 
chased with  money "  is  the  solemn  indictment 
against  one  who  had  purposed  to  buy  the  power  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Many  desire  the  gifts  of  the 
Spirit  who  little  care  for  the  Spirit  himself.  Di- 
vine music  is  greatly  coveted.  Why  not,  with 
our  thousands  of  gold,  buy  this  spiritual  luxury  ? 
Bring  the  singing  men  and  singing  women  from  the 


158  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

opera  and  from  the  concert  hall ;  bid  them  com- 
pound a  potion  of  sanctuary  music,  which  shall  en- 
trance all  ears  and  draw  to  the  church  those  who 
could  not  be  drawn  thither  by  the  plain  attractions 
of  the  Cross.  But  what  is  the  exhortation  of 
Scripture  ?  "  By  him  therefore  let  us  offer  the  sacri- 
fice of  praise  to  God  continually,  that  is,  the  fruit  of 
our  lips,  giving  thanks  to  his  name  "  (Heb.  13  :  15). 
This  kind  of  sacrifice  costs — earnest  prayer,  deep 
communion,  and  the  fullness  of  the  Spirit ;  but  no 
sum  of  gold,  however  large,  is  adequate  for  its  pur- 
chase, nor  can  any  musician's  art,  however  inge- 
nious, imitate  it.  Is  there  no  approach  to  the  sin 
of  simony  in  those  churches  which  spend  thousands 
yearly  in  artistic  music  ?  And  is  not  this  attempted 
purchase  of  the  Holy  Ghost  closely  linked  with  the 
other  sin  of  robbing  God,  considering  how  this  lav- 
ish expenditure  on  artificial  worship  is  almost 
always  accompanied  with  meagre  giving  for  the 
carrying  out  of  the  Great  Commission  ?  Our  conclu- 
sion is,  that  the  service  of  song  has  been  committed 
to  the  church,  and  to  the  church  alone,  under  the 
guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Some  of  her  num- 
ber may  be  appointed  to  lead  this  service,  if  they 
themselves  are  under  the  leadership  of  the  Spirit. 
But  the  church  cannot  commit  this  divine  ministry 
to  unsanctified  hireling  minstrels,  without  affront 
to  the  Spirit  of  God  and  serious  peril  to  her  own 
communion  with  God. 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT     159 

If  again  any  object  that  we  are  setting  up  an  ex- 
aggerated and  impossible  ideal,  let  the  voice  of  ex- 
perience be  heard  in  evidence.  Let  pastors  be 
called  to  testify  of  the  added  blessing  and  fervor 
which  have  come  to  their  sanctuaries  when  this 
ideal  has  been  approximately  realized.  Let  history 
i  epeat  its  story  of  song  driven  in  times  of  apostasy 
into  some  narrow  stall  of  the  church,  and  into  the 
hands  of  a  few  trained  monopolists  of  worship  ; 
and  then,  in  eras  of  revival,  of  the  bursting  of  the 
barriers  and  the  people  of  God  seizing  once  more 
their  defrauded  heritage  and  breaking  forth,  a  great 
multitude,  into  "  hallelujahs  of  the  heart."  The 
annals  of  the  I  Bollards,  and  of  the  Lutherans,  and 
of  the  Wesleyans,  and  of  the  Salvationists  bear 
harmonious  witness  on  this  point,  and  are  deeply 
instructive. 

3.  The  Holy  Spirit  in  the  Missions  of  the  Church. 
In  the  Gospels  which  contain  the  story  of  Christ's 
earthly  life  we  have  the  record  of  the  giving  of 
the  Great  Commission  :  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world 
and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature."  In  the 
Acts,  which  contains  the  story  of  the  life  of  the 
Spirit,  we  have  the  promise  of  the  coming  of  the 
Executor  of  that  Commission  :  "  But  ye  shall  receive 
power  when  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you  ;  and 
ye  shall  be  my  witnesses,  both  in  Jerusalem  and  in 
Judea  and  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of 
the  earth  "  (Acts  I  :  8,  R.  V.).  Nowhere  is  the  hand 


160  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

of  the  Spirit  more  distinctly  seen  than  in  the  origi- 
nation and  superintendence  of  missions.  The  field 
is  the  world,  the  sower  is  the  disciple,  and  the  seed 
is  the  word.  The  world  can  only  be  made  ac- 
cessible through  the  Spirit — "When  he  is  come 
he  will  convict  the  world  of  sin " ;  the  sower  is 
energized  only  through  the  Spirit — "Ye  shall  re- 
ceive the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  coming  upon 
you " ;  and  the  seed  is  only  made  productive 
through  the  quickening  of  the  Spirit — "  He  that 
soweth  unto  the  Spirit  shall  of  the  Spirit  reap  eter- 
nal life  "  (Gal.  6  :  8,  R.  V.).  In  the  simple  story  of 
the  primitive  mission,  as  recorded  in  the  thirteenth 
of  Acts,  we  see  how  every  step  in  the  enterprise 
was  originated  and  directed  by  the  presiding  Spirit. 
We  observe  this : 

(1)  In  the  selection  of  missionaries  :    "  The  Holy 
Ghost  said,   Separate  me    Barnabas  and  Saul  for 
the  work  whereunto  I  have  called  them"  (13  :  2). 

(2)  In  their  thrusting  forth  into  the  field :  "  So 
they,  being  sent  forth  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  departed 
unto  Seleucia"  (13  :  4). 

(3)  In  empowering  them  to  speak  :  "  Then  Saul, 
who  also  is  called  Paul,  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost, 
said"  (13  19). 

(4)  In  sustaining   them  in  persecution :   "  And 
the  disciples  were  filled  with  joy  and  with  the  Holy 
Glwst"  (13  :  52). 

(5)  In  setting  the  Divine  seal  upon  their  min- 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT     l6l 

istry  among  the  Gentiles :  "  And  God,  which 
knoweth  the  hearts,  bare  them  witness,  giving 
them  the  Holy  Ghost,  even  as  he  did  unto  us " 
(15:8). 

(6)  In  counseling  in  difficult  questions  of  mis- 
sionary policy :  "  It  seemed  good  to  the  Holy  Ghost 
and 'to  us"  (15  :  28). 

(7)  In  restraining  the  missionaries  from  enter- 
ing  into   fields  not   yet  appointed  by  the  Lord : 
They  "  were  forbidden  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  preach 
the    gospel    in   Asia.    .    .    They   assayed    to   go 
into  Bithynia   but  the   Spirit  suffered  them   not" 
(16  :  6,  7). 

Very  striking  is  this  record  of  the  ever-present, 
unfailing,  and  minute  direction  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
in  all  the  steps  of  this  divine  enterprise.  "But 
this  was  in  apostolic  days,"  it  will  be  said.  Yes ; 
but  the  promise  of  the  Spirit  is  that  "He  shall 
abide  with  you  for  the  age."  Unless  the  age  has 
ended  he  is  still  here,  and  still  in  office,  and  still 
entrusted  with  the  responsibility  of  carrying  out 
that  work  which  is  dearest  to  the  heart  of  our  glo- 
rified Lord.  Who  can  say  that  there  is  not  need 
in  these  days  of  a  return  to  primitive  methods 
and  of  a  resumption  of  the  Church's  primitive  en- 
dowments ?  The  Holy  Spirit  is  not  straitened  in 
himself,  but  only  in  us.  If  the  Church  had  faith  to 
lean  less  on  human  wisdom,  to  trust  less  in  pruden- 
tial methods,  to  administer  less  by  mechanical 

o 


1 62  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

rules,  and  to  recognize  once  more  the  great  fact 
that,  having  committed  to  her  a  supernatural  work, 
she  has  appointed  for  her  a  supernatural  power, 
who  can  doubt  that  the  grinding  and  groaning  of 
our  cumbrous  missionary  machinery  would  be  vastly 
lessened,  and  the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  be  far 
more  apparent  ? 


VIII 


"Have  you  visited  the  Cathedral  of  Freyburg,  and 
listened  to  that  wonderful  organist,  who  with  such  enchant- 
ment draws  the  tears  from  the  traveler's  eyes  while  he 
touches,  one  after  another,  his  wonderful  keys,  and  makes 
you  hear  by  turns  the  march  of  armies  upon  the  beach,  or 
the  chanted  prayer  upon  the  lake  during  the  tempest,  or  the 
voices  of  praise  after  it  is  calm  ?  Well,  thus  the  Eternal 
God,  embracing  at  a  glance  the  key-board  of  sixty  centuries, 
touches  by  turns,  with  the  fingers  of  his  Spirit,  the  keys 
which  he  had  chosen  for  the  unity  of  his  celestial  hymn.  He 
lays  his  left  hand  upon  Enoch,  the  seventh  from  Adam,  and 
his  right  hand  on  John,  the  humble  and  sublime  prisoner  of 
Patmos.  From  the  one  the  strain  is  heard :  '  Behold  the 
Lord  cometh  with  ten  thousand  of  his  saints '  ;  from  the 
other:  'Behold  he  cometh  with  clouds.'  And  between 
the  notes  of  this  hymn  of  three  thousand  years  there  is  eter- 
nal harmony,  and  the  angels  stoop  to  listen,  the  elect  of  God 
are  moved,  and  eternal  life  descends  into  men's  souls."— 
Gaussen's  Theopneustia. 


VIII 

THE    INSPIRATION    OF    THE    SPIRIT 

INSPIRATION  signifies  inbreathing.  Both  the 
A  scribe  and  the  Scripture,  both  the  man  of  God 
and  the  word  of  God  were  divinely  inbreathed.  In 
that  memorable  meeting  of  the  risen  Lord  and  his 
disciples  within  the  closed  doors,  we  read  that  "He 
breathed  on  them  and  saith  unto  them,  Receive  ye 
the  Holy  Ghost ;  whosesoever  sins  ye  forgive,  they 
are  forgiven  unto  them ;  whosesoever  sins  ye  retain, 
they  are  retained"  (John  20  :  22,  R.  V.).  Well 
may  the  question  of  the  scribes  concerning  Jesus 
now  arise  in  our  hearts  concerning  his  disciples  : 
"  Who  can  forgive  sins  but  God  only  ? "  And  the 
answer  should  be :  "  True ;  God  alone  can  forgive 
sins.  And  it  is  only  because  the  Spirit  of  God, 
who  is  God,  is  in  the  apostles,  endowing  them  with 
his  divine  prerogatives,  that  they  are  able  to  exer- 
cise this  high  authority." 

We  are  persuaded,  however,  that  this  commission 
was  not  given  to  all  Christians,  though  all  have  the 
Spirit.  In  a  note  in  Olshausen's  Commentary  the 
matter  seems  to  be  correctly  stated  :  "  To  the  apos- 
tles was  granted  the  power,  absolute  and  uncondi- 
tioned, of  binding  and  loosing,  just  as  to  them  was 

165 


l66  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

given  the  power  of  publishing  truth  unmixed  with 
error.  For  both  they  possessed  miraculous  spiritual 
endowments."  Only  we  should  say  "sovereign" 
rather  than  "  miraculous  "  endowments.  "  The  Spirit 
breatheth  where  he  wills,  and  thou  hearest  his  voice," 
said  Jesus.1  While  miraculous  gifts  were  not  con- 
fined to  the  apostles,  Christ  may  have  committed  to 
these,  and  to  these  alone,  the  sovereign  prerogative 
of  forgiving  sins ;  gifts  of  healing,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  working  of  miracles,  prophecy,  the  dis- 
cerning of  spirits,  and  tongues,  being  distributed 
throughout  the  church ;  "  but  all  these  worketh 
one  and  the  same  Spirit,  dividing  to  each  one 
severally  even  as  he  will"  (i  Cor.  12  :  II,  R.  V.). 
In  a  word,  the  action  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
supremely  sovereign  in  the  assignment  of  spir- 
itual offices,  and  when  Jesus  breathed  on  his 
apostles  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  gave  them  authority 

1  John  3:8.  "  The  wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth."  Without  pro- 
nouncing dogmatically,  it  must  be  said  that  the  translation  of  Bengal 
and  some  others — "  The  Spirit  breatheth  where  he  wills,  and  thou 
hearest  his  voice" — has  reasons  in  its  favor  which  are  well-nigh  lire- 
sistible ;  e.  g.,  If  rb  wevfia  here  is  the  wind,  it  has  one  meaning  in  the 
first  part  of  the  sentence  and  another  meaning  in  the  second ;  and  that 
meaning  too,  one  which  it  bears  in  no  other  instance  of  the  more  than 
two  hundred  and  seventy  uses  of  the  word  in  the  New  Testament.  It 
is  not  the  word  used  in  Acts  2  :  2,  as  might  be  expected  if  it  signified 
wind.  Then  it  seems  unnatural  to  ascribe  volition  to  the  wind,  MA«. 
On  the  contrary,  if  the  words  apply  to  the  Spirit,  the  saying  is  in  en- 
tire harmony  with  other  Scriptures,  which  affirm  the  sovereignty  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  in  regeneration  (John  I  :  13)  and  in  the  control  and  direc- 
tion of  those  who  are  the  subjects  of  the  new  birth  (2  Cor.  12  :  4-11). 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT         167 

to  remit  sins,  he  separated  them  unto  a  prerogative 
of  which  others,  indwelt  by  the  same  Spirit,  might 
have  known  nothing.  It  is  very  generally  held  that 
the  order  of  apostles  ceased  with  the  death  of  those 
who  had  seen  the  Lord  and  companied  with  him 
until  the  day  that  he  was  received  up.  But  the 
reason  for  this  cessation  has  been  too  little  consid- 
ered. May  we  not  believe  that  the  apostles  and 
their  companions  were  commissioned  to  speak  for 
the  Lord  until  the  New  Testament  Scriptures,  his 
authoritative  voice,  should  be  completed  ?  If  so,  in 
the  apostolate  we  have  a  provisional  inspiration  ;  in 
the  gospel  a  stereotyped  inspiration ;  the  first  being 
endowed  with  authority  ad  intetim  to  remit  sins,  and 
the  second  having  this  authority  in  perpetuam.  The 
New  Testament,  as  the  very  mouthpiece  of  the 
Lord,  pronounces  forgiveness  upon  all  in  every 
generation  who  truly  repent  and  believe  on  the  Son 
of  God ;  and  preachers  in  every  age,  with  the  Bible 
in  their  hand,  are  authorized  to  do  the  same  declara- 
tively.  But  when  it  is  urged,  as  by  Catholic 
writers,  that  this  infallibility  for  teaching  and  abso- 
lution, which  was  committed  to  the  apostles,  has 
descended  through  a  succession  of  ministers  called 
the  clergy,  the  answer  seems  to  be,  that  this  au- 
thority has  not  been  perpetuated  in  any  body  of 
men  apart  from  the  Scriptures,  but  was  transferred 
to  the  New  Testament  and  lodged  there  for  all 
time.  Historically,  at  least,  it  seems  to  have  been 


1 68  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

the  fact,  that  as  the  apostles  and  prophets  of  the 
new  dispensation  disappeared,  the  Gospels  and  Epis- 
tles took  their  place,  and  that  henceforth  the  divine 
authoritative  voice  of  the  Spirit  could  be  distinctly 
recognized  only  in  the  written  word.  As  coal  has 
been  called  "fossil  sunlight,"  so  the  New  Testa- 
ment may  be  called  fossil  inspiration,  the  super- 
natural illumination  which  fell  upon  the  apostles 
being  herein  stored  up  for  the  use  of  the  church 
throughout  the  ages.1 

"All  Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God 
[QeonveuffToi; — God-breathed],  and  is  profitable  for 
doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruc- 
tion in  righteousness"  (2  Tim.  3  :  16).  As  the 
Lord  breathed  the  Spirit  into  certain  men,  and 
thereby  committed  to  them  his  own  prerogative 
of  forgiving  sin,  so  he  breathed  his  Spirit  into 
certain  books  and  endowed  them  with  his  in- 
fallibility in  teaching  truth.  God  did  not  choose 
to  inspire  all  good  books,  though  he  has  chosen  to 

i  The  proof  that  the  inspiration  of  the  apostles  and  scribes  of  the  New 
Testament  was  not  transmitted  to  successors  is  thus  stated  by  Nean- 
der :  "  A  phenomenon  singular  in  its  kind  is  the  striking  difference 
between  the  writings  of  the  apostles  and  those  of  the  apostolic  fathers, 
so  nearly  their  contemporaries.  In  other  instances  transitions  are  wont 
to  be  gradual,  but  in  this  instance  we  observe  a  sudden  change. 
There  is  no  gentle  gradation  here,  but  all  at  once  an  abrupt  transition 
from  one  style  of  language  to  another — a  phenomenon  which  should 
lead  us  to  acknowledge  the  fact  of  a  special  agency  of  the  Divine 
Spirit  in  the  souls  of  the  apostles  and  of  a  new  creative  element  in  the 
first  period." — Church  History,  II.,  405. 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT         169 

inbreathe  one  book,  thereby  separating  it  and  set- 
ting it  apart  from  all  other  books.1  The  phrase,  "  the 
Bible  is  simply  literature,"  which  some  are  using 
to-day,  as  a  suggestion  against  bibliolatry,  is  not 
true.  Literature  is  the  letter;  Scripture  is  the 
letter  inspired  by  the  Spirit.  What  Jesus  said  in 
justification  of  his  doctrine  of  the  new  birth  is 
equally  applicable  to  the  doctrine  of  inspiration : 
"  That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh,  and  that 
which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit."  Educate,  de- 
velop, and  refine  the  natural  man  to  the  highest  pos- 
sible point,  and  yet  he  is  not  a  spiritual  man  till, 
through  the  new  birth,  the  Holy  Ghost  renews  and 
indwells  him.  So  of  literature ;  however  elevated 
its  tone,  however  lofty  its  thought,  it  is  not  Script- 
ure. Scripture  is  literature  indwelt  by  the  Spirit 
of  God.  The  absence  of  the  Holy  Ghost  from  any 
writing  constitutes  the  impassable  gulf  between  it 
and  Scripture.  Our  Lord,  in  speaking  of  his  own 
doctrine,  uses  the  same  language,  to  show  its  sepa- 
rateness  from  common  teaching  which  he  employs 
above  to  mark  the  distinction  of  the  new  man.  He 
says  :  "  It  is  the  Spirit  that  quickeneth ;  the  flesh 
profiteth  nothing ;  the  words  that  I  have  spoken  unto 

1  There  are  the  strongest  reasons  for  rejecting  the  rendering  of  this 
passage  as  given  in  the  Revised  Version  :  "Every  Scripture  inspired 
of  God  is  also  profitable,  etc.  The  reader  will  find  the  objections  to 
this  rendering  powerfully  and  conclusively  set  forth  in  Tregelles  on 
Daniel.  Note,  p.  267. 

P 


I7O  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

you  are  spitit  and  are  life"  (John  6  :  63,  R.  V.). 
Words  they  were,  and  in  that  respect,  literature  ;  but 
words  divinely  inbreathed  and  therefore  Scripture. 
In  fine,  the  one  fact  which  makes  the  word  of  God  a 
unique  book,  standing  apart  in  solitary  separateness 
from  all  other  writings,  is  that  which  also  parts  off 
the  man  of  God  from  common  men — the  indwelling 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Therefore  we  may  say  truly 
of  the  Bible,  not  merely  that  it  was  inspired,  but  it 
is  inspired ;  that  the  Holy  Ghost  breathes  within 
it,  making  it  not  only  authoritative  in  its  doctrine 
but  life-giving  in  its  substance,  so  that  they  who 
receive  its  promises  by  faith  "  have  been  begot- 
ten again,  not  of  corruptible  seed,  but  of  incor- 
ruptible, through  the  word  of  God  which  liveth  and 
abideth  "  (i  Peter  I  :  23,  R.  V.). 

Thus  far  in  this  volume  we  have  been  dwelling 
upon  the  various  works  and  offices  of  the  Paraclete. 
Now  we  come  to  consider  that  the  Holy  Spirit  not 
only  acts  but  speaks.  Let  us  listen  to  the  repeated 
affirmations  of  this  fact.  Seven  times  our  glorified 
Lord  says,  speaking  in  the  Apocalypse  :  "  He  that 
hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto 
the  churches  "  (Rev.  2  :  7).  The  Paraclete  on 
earth  answers  to  the  Paraclete  above,  so  that  to  the 
voice  from  Heaven  saying  :  "  Write,  blessed  are  the 
dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth,"  the 
response  is  heard :  "  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that 
they  may  rest  from  their  labors,"  etc.  (Rev.  14  :  1 3). 


THE   INSPIRATION   OF   THE  SPIRIT          17 1 

This  accords  with  the  general  tenor  of  Scripture 
as  to  its  own  Author.  In  referring  to  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, Peter  says :  "  This  Scripture  must  needs 
have  been  fulfilled,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  by  the 
mouth  of  David  spake  before  concerning  Judas, 
which  was  guide  to  them  that  took  Jesus "  (Acts 
I  :  1 6).  And  again:  "David  himself  said  by 
the  Holy  Ghost"  (Mark  12  :  36),  our  Lord  thus 
plainly  recognizing  the  voice  of  the  Spirit  in  the 
voice  of  the  psalmist.  So  again  :  "  The  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  spake  by  me,  and  his  word  was  in  my 
tongue.  The  God  of  Israel  said,  the  Rock  of  Israel 
spake  to  me  "  (2  Sam.  23:2,  3),  and  "  Wherefore 
as  the  Holy  Ghost  saith,  To-day  if  ye  will  hear  his 
voice  "  (Heb.  3  :  7). 

And  what  is  it  to  speak  ?  Is  it  not  to  express 
thought  in  language  ?  The  difference  between 
thinking  and  saying  is  simply  the  difference  of 
words.  Therefore,  if  the  Holy  Ghost  " saith"  we 
are  to  find  in  the  words  of  Scripture  the  exact  sub- 
stance of  what  he  saith.  Hence  verbal  inspiration 
seems  absolutely  essential  for  conveying  to  us  the 
exact  thought  of  God.  And  while  many  affect  to 
ridicule  the  idea  as  mechanical  and  paltry,  the  con- 
duct and  method  of  scholars  of  every  shade  of  be- 
lief show  how  generally  it  is  accepted.  For,  why 
the  minute  study  of  the  words  of  Scripture  carried 
on  by  all  expositors,  their  search  after  the  precise 
shade  of  verbal  significance,  their  attention  to  the 


172  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

minutest  details  of  language,  and  to  all  the  delicate 
coloring  of  mood  and  tense  and  accent  ?  The  high 
scholars  who  speak  lightly  of  the  theory  of  literal 
inspiration  of  the  Scriptures  by  their  method  of 
study  and  exegesis  are  they  who  put  the  strongest 
affirmation  on  the  doctrine  which  they  deny.  Then 
we  cannot  forget  what  we  imply  when  we  say  that 
language  is  the  expression  of  thought.  Words  de- 
termine the  size  and  shape  of  ideas.  As  exactly  as 
the  coin  answers  to  Ihe  die  in  which  it  is  struck, 
does  the  thought  answer  to  the  word  by  which  it  is 
uttered.  Vary  the  language  by  the  slightest  modi- 
fication, and  you  by  so  much  vary  the  thought. 

As  ultra  spiritualism  interprets  Paul's  words  "  a 
spiritual  body"  to  mean  a  ghost,  when  the  accent  is 
as  strongly  on  the  0^0.  as  on  the  msuij.aru6v,  his 
real  thought  evidently  being  that  of  a  body  spirit- 
ualized;  so  some,  remembering  that  "the  letter 
killeth,"  would  etherealize  Scripture  by  telling  us 
that  the  divine  idea  is  the  chief  thing,  and  the  lan- 
guage quite  secondary.  But  wisely  and  well  has 
Martin  Luther  reminded  us  that  "  Christ  did  not 
say  of  his  Spirit,  but  of  his  words,  they  are  spirit 
and  life." 

To  deny  that  it  is  the  Holy  Ghost  who  speaks  in 
Scripture,  is  an  intelligible  position ;  but  admitting 
that  he  speaks,  we  can  only  understand  his  thoughts 
by  listening  to  his  words.  True,  he  may  beget 
within  us  emotions  too  deep  for  expression,  as  when 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT          173 

"The  Spirit  himself  maketh  intercession  for  us 
with  groanings  which  cannot  be  uttered  "  (Rom.  8  : 
26).  But  the  idea  which  is  really  intelligible  is  the 
idea  that  is  embodied  in  speech.  For  finite  minds, 
at  least,  words  are  the  measure  of  comprehensible 
thoughts.  Evidently  Jesus  claims  for  his  teaching 
not  only  inspiration,  but  verbal  inspiration,  when 
he  says  that  his  words  are  "  spirit  and  life."  And 
to  this  agrees  the  saying  of  Paul,  in  speaking  of 
the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  "  But  God  hath 
revealed  them  unto  us  by  his  Spirit :  for  the  Spirit 
searcheth  all  things,  yea,  the  deep  things  of  God. 
For  what  man  knoweth  the  things  of  man,  save  the 
spirit  of  man  which  is  in  him  ?  even  so  the  things 
of  God  knoweth  no  man,  but  the  Spirit  of  God. 
Now  we  have  received,  not  the  spirit  of  the  world, 
but  the  Spirit  which  is  of  God,  that  we  might  know 
the  things  which  are  freely  given  to  us  of  God, 
which  things  also  we  speak,  not  in  the  words  which 
mans  wisdom  teacheth,  but  which  the  Holy  Ghost 
teacketh,  comparing  spiritual  things  with  spiritual " 
(i  Cor.  2  :  10-13). 

And  what  if  one  objects  that  this  theory  makes 
inspiration  purely  mechanical,  and  turns  the  writers 
of  Scripture  into  stenographers,  whose  office  is 
simply  to  transcribe  the  words  of  the  Spirit  as  they 
are  dictated  ?  It  must  be  confessed  that  there  is 
much  in  Scripture  to  support  this  view  of  the  case. 
Should  we  see  a  student  who,  having  taken  down 


174  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

the  lecture  of  a  profound  philosopher,  was  now 
studying  diligently  to  comprehend  the  sense  of  the 
discourse  which  he  had  written,  we  should  under- 
stand simply  that  he  was  a  pupil  and  not  a  master ; 
that  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  originating  either 
the  thoughts  or  the  words  of  the  lecture,  but  was 
rather  a  disciple  whose  province  it  was  to  under- 
stand what  he  had  transcribed,  and  so  be  able  to 
communicate  it  to  others.  And  who  can  deny  that 
this  is  the  exact  picture  of  what  we  have  in  the 
following  passage  from  Scripture  :  "  Of  which  sal- 
vation the  prophets  have  inquired  and  searched 
diligently,  who  prophesied  of  the  grace  that  should 
come  unto  you,  searching  what,  or  ivJiat  manner  of 
time  the  Spirit  of  Christ  which  was  in  them  did 
signify,  wJien  it  testified  beforeJtand  the  sufferings  of 
Cht  ist  and  the  glory  that  should  follow  ;  unto  whom 
it  was  revealed,"  etc.  (i  Peter  i  :  10, 1 1.)  Here  were 
inspired  writers,  studying  the  meaning  of  what  they 
themselves  had  written.  If  they  were  prophets  on 
the  man  ward  side,  they  were  evidently  pupils  on  the 
Godward  side.  With  all  possible  allowance  for  the 
human  peculiarities  of  the  writers,  they  must  have 
been  reporters  of  what  they  heard,  rather  than  the 
formulators  of  that  which  they  had  been  made  to 
understand.  How  nearly  this  also  describes  the 
attitude  of  Christ, — a  hearer  that  he  might  be  a 
teacher :  "  All  things  that  I  have  heard  of  my 
Father  I  have  made  known  unto  you  "  (John  1 5  : 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT         175 

1 5) ;  a  reporter  that  he  might  be  a  revealer :  "  I 
have  given  unto  them  the  words  which  thou  gavest 
me"  (John  17  :  8). 

In  these  days  scholars  are  very  jealous  for  the 
h  uman  element  in  inspiration ;  but  the  sovereign 
element  is  what  most  impresses  the  diligent  student 
of  this  subject.  "The  Spirit  breatheth  where  he 
wills."  Concerning  regeneration  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
we  are  carefully  told  that  it  is  "  not  of  the  will  of 
the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God  " ;  and 
concerning  inspiration  by  the  Spirit,  the  teaching  is 
equally  explicit :  "  For  no  prophecy  ever  came  by 
the  will  of  man,  but  men  spake  from  God,  being 
moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost"  (2  Peter  I  :  21,  R.  V.). 

The  style  of  Scripture  is,  no  doubt,  according  to 
the  traits  and  idiosyncracies  of  the  several  writers, 
as  the  light  within  the  cathedral  takes  on  its  various 
hues  from  passing  through  the  stained  windows; 
but  to  say  that  the  thoughts  of  the  Bible  are  from 
the  Spirit,  and  the  language  from  men,  creates  a 
dualism  in  revelation  not  easy  to  justify ;  so  that  we 
must  quote  with  entire  approval  the  words  of  an 
eminent  writer  upon  this  subject:  "The  opinion 
that  the  subject-matter  alone  of  the  Bible  proceeded 
from  the  Holy  Spirit,  while  its  language  was  left  to 
the  unaided  choice  of  the  various  writers,  amounts 
to  that  fantastic  notion  which  is  the  grand  fallacy 
of  many  theories  of  inspiration ;  namely,  that  two 
spiritual  agencies  were  in  operation,  one  of  which 


176  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

produced  the  phraseology  in  the  outward  form, 
while  the  other  created  within  the  soul  the  concep- 
tions and  thoughts  of  which  such  phraseology  was 
the  expression.  The  Holy  Spirit,  on  the  contrary, 
as  the  productive  priticiple,  embraces  the  entire 
activity  of  those  whom  he  inspires,  rendering  their 
language  the  word  of  God."  * 

If  it  be  urged  that  the  quotations  which  the  New 
Testament  makes  from  the  Old  are  rarely  ipsissima 
•uerba,  the  language  being  in  many  instances  greatly 
changed,  it  should  be  noted  in  reply  how  significant 
even  these  changes  often  are.  If  the  Holy  Spirit 
directed  in  the  writing  of  both  books,  he  would  have 
a  sovereign  right  to  alter  the  phraseology,  if  need 
be,  from  the  one  to  the  other.  In  the  opinion  of 
many  scholars  the  change  of  "  the  Redeemer  shall 
come  to  Zion,  and  unto  them  that  turn  from  trans- 
gression in  Jacob,"  in  Isa.  59  :  20,  to  "There  shall 
come  out  of  Zion  the  Deliverer,"  in  Rom.  1 1  :  26, 
is  an  inspired  and  intentional  change.2  So  of  the 
citation  from  Amos  9:11,  "In  that  day  will  I  raise 
up  the  tabernacle  that  is  fallen,"  as  given  in  Acts 
15:16,"  After  these  things  I  will  return,  and  I  will 
build  again  the  tabernacle  of  David  which  is  fallen  " ; 
the  modification  of  the  language  seems  designed,  in 
order  to  make  clear  its  significance  in  its  present 
setting.  Many  other  examples  might  be  given  of 

1  Lee  on  the  "  Inspiration  of  the  Holy  Scripture,"  pp.  32,  33. 
'  See  Lange's  " Commentary"  in  loco. 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT         177 

a  reshaping  of  his  own  words  by  the  divine  Author 
of  Scripture.  On  the  other  hand,  the  constant  re- 
currence of  the  same  words  and  phrases  in  books 
of  the  Bible  most  widely  separated  in  the  time  and 
circumstances  of  their  composition,  strongly  sug- 
gests identity  of  authorship  amid  the  variety  of  pen- 
manship. The  individuality  of  the  writers  was  no 
doubt  preserved,  only  that  their  individuality  was 
subordinated  to  the  sovereign  individuality  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  It  is  with  the  written  word  as  with 
the  incarnate  Word.  Because  Christ  is  divine,  he 
is  more  truly  human  than  any  whom  the  world  has 
ever  seen ;  and  because  the  Bible  is  supernatural,  it 
is  natural  as  no  other  book  which  was  ever  written  ; 
its  divinity  lifts  it  above  those  faults  of  style  which 
are  the  fruits  of  self-consciousness  and  ambition. 
Whether  we  read  the  Old  Testament  story  of  Abra- 
ham's servant  seeking  a  bride  for  Isaac,  or  the  New 
Testament  narrative  of  the  walk  of  the  risen  Christ 
with  his  disciples  to  Emmaus,  the  inimitable  sim- 
plicity of  the  diction  would  make  us  think  that  we 
were  listening  to  the  dialect  of  the  angels  who 
never  sinned  in  thought,  and  therefore  cannot  sin 
in  style,  did  we  not  know  rather  that  it  is  the  phrase- 
ology of  the  Holy  Spirit.1 

1  I  am  satisfied  only  with  the  style  of  Scripture.  My  own  style 
and  the  style  of  all  other  men  cannot  satisfy  me.  If  I  read  only 
three  or  four  verses  I  am  sure  of  their  divinity  on  account  of  their 
inimitableness.  //  is  the  style  of  the  heavenly  court. —  Oetixger. 


178  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

An  eminent  German  theologian  has  written  a 
sentence  so  profoundly  significant  that  we  here  re- 
produce it  in  Italics  :  "  We  can  in  fact  speak  with 
good  reason  of  a  language  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  For 
it  lies  in  the  Bible  plainly  before  our  eyes,  how  the 
Divine  Spirit,  who  is  the  agent  of  revelation,  has 
fashioned  for  himself  a  quite  peculiar  religious  dia- 
lect out  of  the  speech  of  that  people  which  forms  its 
theatre"1  So  true  do  we  hold  this  saying  to  be, 
that  it  seems  to  us  quite  impossible  that  the  exact 
meaning  of  many  of  the  terms  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment Greek  should  be  found  hi  a  Lexicon  of  classic 
Greek.  Though  the  verbal  form  is  the  same  in 
both,  the  inbreathed  spirit  may  have  imparted  such 
new  significance  to  old  words,  that  to  employ  a 
secular  dictionary  for  translating  the  sacred  oracles, 
were  almost  like  calling  an  unregenerate  man  to 
interpret  the  mysteries  of  the  regenerate  life.  Do 
we  not  know  how  modern  progress  and  discovery 
have  even  put  new  meanings  into  many  English 
words,  so  that  one  must  be  in  "the  spirit  of  the 
age  "  in  order  to  comprehend  them  ? 2  Thus  like- 

i  Rothe,  "  Dogmatics,"  p.  238. 

*  For  example,  Shakespeare,  and  Milton,  and  Dryden,  employ  the 
words  "  car  "  and  "  engine  "  and  "  train  "  in  their  writings ;  but  liv- 
ing before  the  age  of  steam  and  railways  they  knew  nothing  of  the 
meaning  which  these  terms  convey  to  us.  And  it  is  possible  that 
Homer  and  Plato  knew  as  little  of  the  meaning  of  such  words  as 
(UUP  and  ffopaxAirroc,  as  found  in  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  by 
whom  "  the  ages  were  framed  "  and  the  Comforter  sent  down. 


THE   INSPIRATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT          179 

wise,  even  in  the  work  of  verbal  criticism,  it  is 
essential  that  one  possess  the  spirit  of  Christ  in 
order  to  translate  the  words  of  Christ. 

As  to  the  question  of  the  "  inerrancy  of  Script- 
ure," as  the  modern  phrase  is,  we  may  well  pass  by 
many  minor  arguments,  and  emphasize  the  one 
great  reason  for  holding  this  view,  viz.  :  If  it  is 
God  the  Holy  Ghost  who  speaks  in  Scripture,  then 
the  Bible  is  the  word  of  God,  and  like  God,  infallible. 
A  recent  brilliant  writer  has  challenged  us  to  show 
where  the  Bible  anywhere  calls  itself  "  The  word 
of  God."  *•  The  most  elementary  student  of  the 
subject  can,  with  the  aid  of  a  concordance,  easily 
point  out  the  passages  which  so  describe  it.  But 
we  dwell  on  the  fact  that  is  not  only  called  6  Uyos 

TOO  deou,    "  the    word  of  God,"    but    r<i  Myta.  TOO  Oeou, 

"  the  oracles  of  God."  This  collective  name  of  the 
Scriptures  is  most  significant.  We  need  not  in- 
quire of  the  heathen  as  to  the  meaning  which  they 
put  upon  the  words  as  the  authoritative  utterances 
of  their  gods ;  let  the  usage  of  Scripture  make  its 
own  impression  :  "  What  advantage  then  hath  the 
Jew  ?  or  what  is  the  profit  of  circumcision  ?  Much 
every  way;  first  of  all,  that  they  were  intrusted 
with  the  oracles  of  God"  (Rom.  3  :  2,  R.  V.).2 
This  comprehensive  expression  is  very  helpful 

1  Dr.  R.  F.  Hoiton,  in  "  Verbum  Dei." 

*  The  apostle  in  calling  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  the  "  ora 
cles  of  God,"  clearly  recognizes  them  as  divinely  inspired  books.  The 


180  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

to  our  faith.  When  critics  are  assailing  the  books 
of  the  Old  Testament  in  detail,  the  Holy  Spirit 
authenticates  them  for  us  in  their  entirety.  As 
Abigail  prayed  for  a  soul  "  bound  in  the  bundle  of 
life  "  with  the  Lord,  so  here  an  apostle  gives  us  the 
books  of  the  Law  and  the  Prophets  and  the  Psalms 
bound  together  in  one  bundle  of  inspired  authority. 
Stephen,  in  like  manner,  speaks  of  his  nation  as 
"  those  who  received  the  lively  oracles  (of  God)  to 
give  unto  us  "  (Acts  7  :  38) ;  and  Peter  says,  "  If 
any  man  speak  let  him  speak  as  the  oracles  of  God" 
( i  Peter  4:11).  And  not  only  this ;  the  same  apostles 
who  submitted  to  the  authority  of  the  Old  Testament 
as  the  oracles  of  God,  themselves  claimed  to  write 
as  the  oracles  of  God  in  the  New  Testament.  "  If 
any  man,"  says  Paul,  "think  himself  to  be  a 
prophet  or  spiritual,  let  him  acknowledge  that 
the  things  that  I  write  unto  you  are  the  com- 
mandments of  the  Lord"  (i  Cor.  14  :  37).  "We 
are  of  God,"  writes  John.  "  He  that  knoweth  God 
heareth  us;  he  that  is  not  of  God  heareth  not 
us"  (i  John  4  :  16).  These  claims  are  too  great 
to  be  put  forth  concerning  fallible  writings.  Ad- 
mitting their  premises,  the  Jews  were  right  in 
charging  Jesus  with  blasphemy,  in  that  being  a  man 

Jewish  church  was  the  trustee  and  guardian  of  these  oracles  till  the 
coming  of  Christ.  Now  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment are  committed  to  the  guardianship  of  the  Christian  Church.— 
Dr.  Philip  Schaff. 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT          l8l 

he  made  himself  God.  If  Christ  is  not  God,  he  is 
not  even  a  good  man.  And  if  the  Scriptures  are 
not  inerrant,  they  are  worse  than  errant ;  since, 
being  literature,  they  make  themselves  the  word  of 
God. 

And  what  if  it  be  said  that  there  are  irreconcila- 
ble contradictions  in  this  book  which  calls  itself  the 
oracles  of  God  ?  Two  things  may  be  said  :  First, 
it  should  be  expected  that  under  "the  scientific 
method"  such  contradictions  should  appear  and 
constantly  multiply.  The  Bible  is  a  sensitive  plant, 
which  shuts  itself  up  at  the  touch  of  mere  critical 
investigation.  In  the  same  paragraph  in  which  it 
claims  that  its  very  words  are  the  words  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  it  repudiates  the  scientific  method  as  futile 
for  the  understanding  of  those  words  :  "  Eye  hath 
not  seen,  nor  ear  heard," — and  insists  on  the  spir- 
itual method  as  alone  adequate, — "but  God  hath 
revealed  them  unto  us  by  his  Spirit"  (i  Cor.  2  : 
9,  10).  Not  only  does  the  Bible  not  yield  roses  to 
the  critic,  it  yields  the  thorns  and  briars  of  hopeless 
contradiction.  "  Intellige  ut  credas  verbum  meum," 
said  Augustine  to  the  rationalists  of  his  day,  "  sed 
creds  ut  intelligas  verbum  Dei"  "  Understand 
my  word,  that  you  may  believe  it ;  believe  God's 
word,  that  you  may  understand  it."  Faith  holds 
not  only  the  keys  of  all  the  creeds,  but  of  all 
the  contradictions.  He  who  starts  out  and  pro- 
ceeds under  the  conviction  that  the  Bible  is  the 


182  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

infallible  word  of  God,  will  find  discrepancies  con- 
stantly turning  into  unisons  under  his  study  And 
this  remark  leads  to  the  second  observation  :  that 
the  contradictions  of  man  may  really  be  the  harmo- 
nies of  God.  An  uncultivated  listener,  hearing  an 
oratorio  of  one  of  the  great  masters,  would  detect 
discords  again  and  again  in  the  strains ;  and  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  what  are  called  "accidentals"  in 
music  are  discords,  but  discords  inserted  to 
heighten  the  harmony.  Thus,  as  one  after  another 
of  the  alleged  discrepancies  of  Scripture  having 
been  noted  and  made  to  jar  upon  the  ear  have 
then  been  reconciled,  with  what  an  emphatic  and 
heightened  harmony  have  the  words  of  the  psalm- 
ist, speaking  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  fallen  on  our  ear : 
"The  law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  converting  the 
soul ;  the  testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure,  making 
wise  the  simple  "  1  There  seems  to  the  critic  to  be 
historic  error  in  the  statement  of  Stephen  that 
Jacob  was  buried  at  Sychem  (Acts  7  :  16)  in- 
stead of  in  the  field  of  Machpeiah  before  Mamre, 
as  recorded  in  Gen.  50  :  13,  just  as  it  was  once 
thought  that  Luke  had  made  a  mistake,  not  to 
be  explained  away,  in  his  reference  to  Cyrenius 
in  chapter  2:1,2.  But  as  the  latter  contradiction 
has  disappeared,  only  confirming  the  veracity  of 
Scripture  by  the  investigation  which  it  has  called 
forth,  so  may  the  former.  And  so  also  with  such 
alleged  discrepancies  as  that  between  the  record  in 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT          183 

one  place  that  King  Solomon  had  four  thousand 
stalls  for  horses,  and  in  another  forty  thousand ; 
or  that  of  the  statement  in  one  passage  that  King 
Josias  began  to  reign  at  eight  years  of  age,  and  in 
another,  at  eighteen.  What  if  we  freely  admit  that 
we  cannot  reconcile  these  statements  ?  That  does 
not  prove  that  they  are  not  reconcilable.  The  his- 
tory of  solved  contradictions  has  certainly  shown 
this,  that  as  "the  foolishness  of  God  is  wiser  than 
men,  and  the  weakness  of  God  stronger  than  men," 
so  the  discords  of  God  are  more  harmonious  than 
men. 

We  may  say,  in  closing  this  chapter,  that  almost 
the  highest  proof  of  the  infallibility  of  Scripture  is 
the  practical  one,  that  we  have  proved  it  so ;  that 
as  the  coin  of  the  State  has  always  been  found  able 
to  buy  the  amount  represented  on  its  face,  so  the 
prophecies  and  the  promises  of  Holy  Scripture  have 
yielded  their  face  value  to  those  who  have  taken 
pains  to  prove  them.  If  they  have  not  always  done 
so,  it  is  probable  that  they  have  not  yet  matured. 
Certainly  there  are  multitudes  of  Christians  who 
have  so  far  proved  the  veracity  of  Scripture  that 
they  are  ready  to  trust  it  without  reserve  in  all  that 
it  pledges  for  the  world  yet  unseen  and  the  life  yet 
unrealized.  "Believe  that  thou  mayest  know," 
then,  is  the  admonition  which  Scripture  and  history 
combine  to  enforce.  In  the  farewell  of  that  rare 
saint,  Adolph  Monod,  these  golden  words  occur : 


1 84  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

"  When  I  shall  enter  the  invisible  world,  I  do  not 
expect  to  find  things  different  from  what  the  word 
of  God  represented  them  to  me  here.  The  voice  I 
shall  then  hear  will  be  the  same  I  now  hear  upon 
the  earth,  and  I  shall  say,  '  This  is  indeed  what  God 
said  to  me ;  and  Jww  thankful  I  am  that  I  did  not 
ivait  till  I  had  seen  in  order  to  believe'  " 


IX 
THE    CONVICTION    OF    THE    SPIRIT 


"The  Comforter  in  every  part  of  his  threefold  work  glorifies 
Christ.  In  convincing  of  sin  he  convinces  us  of  the  sin  of 
not  believing  on  Christ.  In  convincing  us  of  righteousness, 
he  convinces  us  of  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  of  that  right- 
eousness which  was  made  manifest  in  Christ  going  to  the 
Father,  and  which  he  received  to  bestow  on  all  such  as 
should  believe  in  him.  And  lastly,  in  convincing  of  judg- 
ment, he  convinces  us  that  the  prince  of  the  World  was 
judged  in  the  life  and  by  the  death  of  Christ.  Thus  through- 
out, Christ  is  glorified  ;  and  that  which  the  Comforter  shows 
to  us  relates  in  all  its  parts  to  the  life  and  work  of  the  incar- 
nate Son  of  God." — Julius  Charles  Hare. 


IX 

THE    CONVICTION    OF    THE    SPIRIT 

"AND  when  he  is  come  he  will  convict  the  world 
•**•  in  respect  of  sin,  and  of  righteousness,  and  of 
judgment"  (John  16  : 8,  R.V.).  It  is  too  large  a  con- 
clusion which  many  seem  to  draw  from  these  words, 
that  since  the  day  of  Pentecost  the  Spirit  has  been 
universally  diffused  in  the  world,  touching  hearts 
everywhere,  among  Christians  and  heathen,  among 
the  evangelized  and  the  unevangelized  alike,  and 
awakening  in  them  a  sense  of  sin.  Does  not  our 
Lord  say  in  this  same  discourse  concerning  the 
Comforter:  "  Whom  the  world  cannot  receive,  be- 
cause it  seeth  him  not  neither  knoweth  him "  ? 
(John  14  :  17.)  With  these  words  should  be  asso- 
ciated the  limitation  which  Jesus  makes  in  the  gift 
of  the  Paraclete  :  "  If  I  depart  I  will  send  him  unto 
you"  Christ's  disciples  were  to  be  the  recipients 
and  distributors  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  his  church 
the  mediator  between  the  Spirit  and  the  world. 
"  And  when  he  is  come  (to  you)  he  will  reprove  the 
world."  And  to  complete  the  exposition,  we  may 
connect  this  promise  with  the  Great  Commission, 
"  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel 
to  every  creature,"  and  conclude  that  when  the 

187 


188  THE   MINISTRY  OP  THE  SPIRIT 

Lord  sends  his  messengers  into  the  world,  the 
Spirit  of  truth  goes  with  them,  witnessing  to  the 
message  which  they  bear,  convincing  of  the  sin 
which  they  reprove,  and  revealing  the  righteousness 
which  they  proclaim.  We  are  not  clear  to  affirm 
that  the  conviction  of  the  Spirit  here  promised  goes 
beyond  the  church's  evangelizing,  though  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  it  invariably  accom- 
panies the  faithful  preaching  of  the  word. 

It  will  help  us  then  to  a  clear  conception  of  the 
subject,  if  we  consider  the  Spirit  of  truth  as  sent 
unto  the  church,  testifying  of  Christ,  and  bringing 
conviction  to  the  world. 

As  there  is  a  threefold  work  of  Christ,  as  prophet, 
priest,  and  king,  so  there  is  a  threefold  conviction 
of  the  Spirit  answering  thereto :  "  And  he,  when 
he  is  come,  will  convict  the  world  in  respect  of  sin 
and  of  righteousness  and  of  judgment ;  of  sin,  because 
they  believe  not  on  me ;  of  righteousness,  because  I 
go  to  the  Father  and  ye  behold  me  no  more ;  of  judg- 
ment, because  the  prince  of  this  world  hath  been 
judged"  (John  16  :  8-12,  R.  V.).  It  is  concerning 
the  testimony  of  Christ  as  he  spake  to  men  in  the 
days  of  his  flesh  ;  and  concerning  the  work  of  Christ 
now  carried  on  in  his  intercession  at  God's  right 
hand ;  and  concerning  the  sentence  of  Christ  when 
he  shall  come  again  to  be  our  judge,  that  this  wit- 
ness of  the  Spirit  has  to  do. 

"  He  sliall  convince  tht  world  of  sin"    Why  is  he 


THE  CONVICTION  OF  THE  SPIRIT  189 

needed  for  this  conviction  since  conscience  is  pres- 
ent in  every  human  breast,  and  is  doing  his  work  so 
faithfully  ?  We  reply  :  Conscience  is  the  witness 
to  the  law;  the  Spirit  is  the  witness  to  grace. 
Conscience  brings  legal  conviction ;  the  Spirit 
brings  evangelical  conviction ;  the  one  begets  a 
conviction  unto  despair,  the  other  a  conviction 
unto  hope. 

"  Of  sin,  because  they  believe  not  on  me,1'  de- 
scribes the  ground  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  conviction. 
The  entrance  of  Christ  into  the  world  rendered 
possible  a  sin  hitherto  unknown :  "If  I  had  not 
come  and  spoken  unto  them,  they  had  not  had  sin ; 
but  now  they  have  no  cloak  for  their  sin  "  (John 
1 5  :  22).  Evil  seems  to  have  required  the  presence 
of  incarnate  goodness,  in  order  to  its  fullest  mani- 
festation. Hence  the  deep  significance  of  the 
prophecy  spoken  over  the  cradle  of  Jesus  :  "  Behold 
this  child  is  set  for  the  fall  and  rising  again  of  many 
in  Israel ;  and  for  a  sign  which  shall  be  spoken 
against,  that  the  thoughts  of  many  hearts  may  be  re- 
vealed" (Luke  2  :  34,  35).  All  the  most  hideous  sins 
of  human  nature  came  out  during  the  betrayal  and 
trial  and  passion  of  our  Lord.  In  that  "  hour  and 
power  of  darkness  "  these  sins  seem  indeed  to  have 
been  but  imperfectly  recognized.  But  when  the 
day  of  Pentecost  had  come,  with  its  awful  revealing 
light  of  the  Spirit  of  truth,  then  there  was  great 
contrition  in  Jerusalem — a  contrition  the  sting  of 


190  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

which  we  find  in  the  charge  of  Peter :  "  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  whom  ye  have  taken  and  by  wicked  hands 
have  crucified  and  slain."  Was  not  that  deep  con- 
viction, following  the  gift  of  the  Spirit,  in  which 
three  thousand  were  brought  to  repentance  in  a 
single  day,  a  conviction  of  sin  because  they  had  not 
believed  on  Christ  ? 

For  our  reproof  the  Holy  Ghost  presents  another 
side  of  the  same  fact,  calling  us  to  repentance,  not 
for  having  taken  part  in  crucifying  Christ,  but  for 
having  refused  to  take  part  in  Christ  crucified ;  not 
for  having  been  guilty  of  delivering  him  up  to 
death,  but  for  having  refused  to  believe  in  him  who 
was  "  delivered  for  our  offenses  and  raised  again  for 
our  justification."  Wherever,  by  the  preaching  of 
the  gospel,  the  fact  of  Christ  having  died  for  the 
sins  of  the  world  is  made  known,  this  guilt  becomes 
possible.  The  sin  of  disbelieving  on  Christ  is, 
therefore,  the  great  sin  now,  because  it  summarizes 
all  other  sins.  He  bore  for  us  the  penalties  of  the 
law ;  and  thus  our  obligation,  which  was  originally 
to  the  law,  is  transferred  to  him.  To  refuse  faith 
in  him,  therefore,  is  to  repudiate  the  claims  of  the 
law  which  he  fulfilled  and  to  repudiate  the  debt  of 
infinite  love  which,  by  his  sacrifice,  we  have  in- 
curred. Nevertheless,  the  Spirit  of  truth  brings 
home  this  sin  against  the  Lord,  not  to  condemn  the 
world,  but  that  the  world  through  him  might  be 
saved.  In  a  word,  as  has  been  well  said,  "it  is  not 


THE  CONVICTION  OF  THE  SPIRIT  191 

the  sin-question  but  the  Son-question "  which  we 
really  raise  now  in  preaching  the  gospel.  "  Christ 
having  perfectly  satisfied  God  about  sin,  the  ques- 
tion now  between  God  and  your  heart  is :  Are 
you  perfectly  satisfied  with  Christ  as  the  alone  por- 
tion of  your  soul  ?  Christ  has  settled  every  other  to 
the  glory  of  God."  In  dealing  with  the  guilty 
Jews,  it  was  the  historical  fact  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  urged  for  their  conviction  :  "  Ye  denied  the 
Holy  One  and  the  Just,  and  killed  the  Prince  of 
Life"  (Acts  3  :  14,  15).  In  dealing  with  us  Gen- 
tiles, it  is  rather  the  theological  or  evangelical  fact : 
"  Christ  also  hath  once  suffered  for  sins,  the  just 
for  the  unjust,  that  he  might  bring  us  to  God" 
(i  Peter  3  :  18),  and  you  are  condemned  that  you 
have  not  believed  on  him  and  confessed  him  as  Sa- 
viour and  Lord.  It  is  the  same  sin  in  the  last  in- 
stance, but  viewed  upon  its  reverse  side,  if  we  may 
say  it.  In  the  one  case  it  is  the  guilt  of  despising 
and  rejecting  the  Son  of  God ;  in  the  other,  it  is 
the  guilt  of  not  believing  in  him  who  was  despised 
and  rejected  of  men.  Yet  if  submissively  yielded 
to,  the  Spirit  will  lead  us  from  this  first  stage  of  reve- 
lation to  the  second,  since  what  Andrew  Fuller  said 
of  the  doctrines  of  theology  is  equally  true  of  the 
convictions  of  the  Spirit,  that  "  they  are  united  to- 
gether like  chain-shot,  so  that  whichever  one  enters 
the  heart  the  other  must  certainly  follow." 

"  Of  righteousness,  because  I  go  to  the  Father  and 


192  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

ye  see  me  no  more"  Not  until  he  had  been  seated 
in  the  heavenly  places  had  Christ  perfected  right- 
eousness for  us.  As  he  was  "  delivered  for  our  of- 
fenses and  raised  again  for  our  justification,"  so 
must  he  be  enthroned  for  our  assurance.  It  is 
necessary  to  see  Jesus  standing  at  the  right  hand 
of  God,  in  order  to  know  ourselves  "  accepted  in 
the  Beloved."  How  beautiful  the  culmination  of 
Isaiah's  passion-prophecy  wherein,  accompanying 
the  promise  that  "  he  shall  bear  the  sin  of  many," 
is  the  prediction  that  "  by  his  knowledge  shall  my 
righteous  servant  justify  many  "  !  But  he  must  be 
shown  to  be  righteous,  in  order  that  he  may  justify; 
and  this  is  what  his  exaltation  does.  "  It  was  the 
proof  that  him  whom  the  world  condemned,  God 
justified — that  the  stone  which  the  builders  re- 
jected, God  made  the  Headstone  of  the  corner — 
that  him  whom  the  world  denied  and  lifted  up  on 
a  cross  of  shame  in  the  midst  of  two  thieves,  God 
accepted  and  lifted  up  in  the  midst  of  the  throne."1 
The  words  "  and  because  ye  see  me  no  more," 
which  have  perplexed  the  commentators,  seem  to  us 

1  For  as  the  ministry  of  Enoch  was  sealed  by  his  reception  into 
heaven,  and  as  the  ministry  of  Elijah  was  also  abundantly  proved 
by  his  translation,  so  also  the  righteousness  and  innocence  of 
Christ.  But  it  was  necessary  that  the  ascension  of  Christ  should  be 
more  fully  attested,  because  upon  his  righteousness,  so  fully  proved 
by  his  ascension,  we  must  depend  for  all  our  righteousness.  For  if 
God  had  not  approved  him  after  his  resurrection,  and  he  had  not 
taken  his  seat  at  bis  right  hand,  we  could  by  no  means  be  accepted  of 
God . — Carhuright. 


THE  CONVICTION  OF  THE  SPIRIT  193 

to  give  the  real  clue  to  the  meaning  of  the  whole 
passage.  So  long  as  the  High  Priest  was  within 
the  veil,  and  unseen,  the  congregation  of  Israel 
could  not  be  sure  of  their  acceptance.  Hence  the 
eager  anxiety  with  which  they  waited  his  coming 
out,  with  the  assurance  that  God  had  received  the 
propitiation  offered  on  their  behalf.  Christ,  our 
great  High  Priest,  has  entered  into  the  Holy  of 
Holies  by  his  own  blood.  Until  he  comes  forth 
again  at  his  second  advent,  how  can  we  be  assured 
that  his  sacrifice  for  .us  is  accepted  ?  We  coi  Id 
not  be,  unless  he  had  sent  out  one  from  his 
presence  to  make  known  this  fact  to  us.  And  this 
is  precisely  what  he  has  done  in  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  "Who  being  the  brightness  of  his 
glory,  and  the  express  image  of  his  person,  and 
upholding  all  things  by  the  word  of  his  power, 
when  he  had  by  himself  purged  our  sins,  he 
sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on 
high  "  (Heb.  I  :  3).  There  he  will  remain  through- 
out the  whole  duration  of  the  great  day  of  atone- 
ment, which  extends  from  ascension  to  advent. 
But  in  order  that  his  church  may  have  immedi- 
ate assurance  of  acceptance  with  the  Father, 
through  his  righteous  servant,  he  sends  forth  the 
Paraclete  to  certify  the  fact ;  and  the  presence  of 
the  Spirit  in  the  midst  of  the  church  is  proof  posi- 
tive of  the  presence  of  Jesus  in  the  midst  of  the 
throne ;  as  is  said  by  Peter  on  the  day  of  Pente- 


194  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

cost :  "  Therefore  being  by  the  right  hand  of  God 
exalted,  and  having  received  of  the  Father  the 
promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  hath  shed  forth  this 
which  ye  now  see  and  hear  "  (Acts  2  :  33). 

Now  the  Lord's  words  seem  plain  to  us.  Be- 
cause he  ascends  to  the  Father,  to  be  seen  no  more 
until  his  second  coming,  the  Spirit  meantime  comes 
down  to  attest  his  presence  and  approval  with  the 
Father  as  the  perfectly  righteous  One.  How 
clearly  this  comes  out  in  Peter's  defense  before  the 
Council:  "The  God  of  our  fathers  raised  up  Jesus, 
whom  ye  slew  and  hanged  on  a  tree.  Him  hath 
God  exalted  with  his  right  hand  to  be  a  Prince  and 
a  Saviour,  for  to  give  repentance  to  Israel  and  for- 
giveness of  sins ;  and  we  are  witnesses  of  these 
things,  and  so  also  is  the  Holy  Glwst,  whom  God 
hath  given  to  them  that  obey  him  "  (Acts  5  :  30-32). 
Why  this  two-fold  witness?  The  reason  is  obvi- 
ous. The  disciples  could  bear  testimony  to  the 
crucifixion  and  resurrection  of  Christ,  but  not  to 
his  enthronement ;  that  event  was  beyond  the  ken 
of  human  vision ;  and  so  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  had 
been  cognizant  of  that  fact  in  heaven,  must  be  sent 
down  as  a  joint-witness  with  the  apostles,  that  thus 
the  whole  circle  of  redemption-truth  might  be  at- 
tested. Therein  was  the  promise  of  Jesus  in  his 
last  discourse  literally  fulfilled :  "  But  when  the 
Comforter  is  come,  whom  I  will  send  unto  you  from 
the  Father,  even  the  Spirit  of  truth  which  pro- 


THE  CONVICTION  OF  THE  SPIRIT  195 

ceedeth  from  the  Father,  he  shall  testify  of  me ;  and 
ye  also  shall  bear  witness,  because  ye  have  been 
with  me  from  the  beginning  "  (John  15  :  26,  27). 

As  we  have  said,  it  is  not  only  the  enthronement 
of  Christ  in  righteous  approval  with  the  Father  that 
must  be  certified,  but  the  acceptance  of  his  sacrifi- 
cial work  as  a  full  and  satisfying  ground  of  our 
reconciliation  with  the  Father.  And  the  Spirit 
proceeding  from  God  is  alone  competent  to  bear  to 
us  this  assurance.  Therefore  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  after  the  reiterated  statement  of  our 
Lord's  exaltation  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  it  is 
added :  "  For  by  one  offering  he  hath  perfected 
forever  them  that  are  sanctified,  whereof  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  also  a  witness  to  us"  (Heb.  10  :  14,  15). 
In  a  word,  he  whom  we  have  known  on  the  cross 
as  "  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of 
the  world,"  must  now  be  known  to  us  on  the  throne 
as  " the  Lord  our  righteousness"  But  though  the 
angels  and  the  glorified  in  heaven  see  Jesus,  once 
crucified,  now  "made  both  Lord  and  Christ,"  we 
see  him  not.  Therefore  it  is  written  that  "  no  man 
can  say  Jesus  is  Lord,  but  in  the  Holy  Spirit"  (i 
Cor.  12:3,  R.  V.).  So  also  we  are  told  that  "if  any 
man  sin  we  have  a  Paraclete  with  the  Father,  Jesus 
Christ  the  righteous"  (I  John  2:1);  but  we  can 
only  know  Christ  as  such  through  that  "  other  Para- 
clete "  sent  forth  from  the  Father.  It  was  promised 
that  "  when  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  he  shall 


196  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

not  speak  from  himself ;  but  what  things  soever  he 
shall  hear,  these  shall  he  speak"  (John  16:13,  R.V.). 
Hearing  the  ascriptions  of  worthiness  lifted  up  to 
Christ  in  heaven,  and  beholding  him  who  was  made 
a  little  lower  than  the  angels  for  the  suffering  of 
death,  now  "crowned  with  glory  and  honor,"  he 
communicates  what  he  sees  and  hears  to  the  church 
on  earth.  Thus,  as  he  in  his  earthly  life,  through 
his  own  outshining  and  self-evidencing  perfection, 
"  was  justified  in  the  spirit "  ;  so  we,  recognizing 
him  standing  for  us  in  glory,  and  now  "of  God 
made  unto  us  righteousness,"  are  also  "justified  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our 
God"  (i  Cor.  6  :  ii). 

Thus,  though  unseen  by  the  church  during  all 
the  time  of  his  high-priestly  ministry,  our  Lord  has 
sent  to  his  church  one  whose  office  it  is  to  bear 
witness  to  all  he  is  and  all  he  is  doing  while  in 
heaven,  that  so  we  may  have  "  boldness  and  access 
with  confidence  by  the  faith  of  him,"  and  that  so 
we  may  come  boldly  to  the  throne  of  grace,  "  the 
Holy  Ghost  this  signifying" — what  he  could  not 
under  the  old  covenant — "that  the  way  into  the 
holiest  of  all "  (Heb.  9  :  8)  has  been  made  manifest. 

And  yet — strange  paradox — in  this  identical  dis- 
course in  which  Jesus  speaks  to  his  disciples  of  see- 
ing him  no  more,  he  says  :  "  Yet  a  little  while  and 
the  world  seeth  me  no  more,  but  ye  see  me  ;  because 
I  live  ye  shall  live  also"  (John  14  :  19);  words 


THE  CONVICTION  OF  THE  SPIRIT  197 

which  by  common  consent  refer  to  the  same  time 
of  Christ's  continuance  within  the  veil.  But  it  is 
now  by  the  inward  vision,  which  the  world  has  not, 
that  they  are  to.  behold  him.  And  they  are  to  be- 
hold him  for  the  world,  since  Christ  said  of  him : 
•'  Whom  the  world  cannot  receive,  because  it  seeth 
him  not,  neither  knoweth  him."  And  yet  it  is  "  to 
convince  the  world"  "  of  sin  and  of  righteousness  and 
of  judgment "  that  the  Spirit  was  to  be  sent.  How 
shall  we  make  it  plain  ?  When  the  sun  retires  be- 
yond the  horizon  at  night,  the  world,  our  hemi- 
sphere, sees  him  no  more;  yet  the  moon  sees  him, 
and  all  night  long  catches  his  light  and  throws  it 
down  upon  us.  So  the  world  sees  not  Christ  in  the 
gracious  provisions  of  redemption  which  he  holds 
for  us  in  heaven,  but  through  the  illumination  of 
the  Comforter  the  church  sees  him  ;  as  it  is  written  : 
"  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have 
entered  into  the  heart  of  man  the  things  which  God 
hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  him ;  but  God 
hath  revealed  them  unto  us  by  his  Spirit"  (i  Cor. 
2  -.9,  10).  And  the  Church  seeing  these  things, 
communicates  what  she  sees  to  the  world.  Christ 
is  all  and  in  all ;  and  the  Spirit  receives  and  reflects 
him  to  the  world  through  his  people. 

The  moon  above,  the  church  below, 

A  wondrous  race  they  run  ; 
But  all  their  radiance,  all  their  glow, 

Each  borrows  of  its  sun. 


198  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

"  Of  judgment,  because  the  prince  of  this  world 
is  judged"  Here,  we  believe,  is  a  still  farther 
advance  in  the  revelation  of  the  gospel,  and  not  a 
retreat  to  the  doctrine  of  a  future  judgment,  as 
some  would  teach.  For  we  repeat  our  conviction, 
that  in  this  entire  discourse  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
revealed  to  us  as  an  evangel  of  Grace,  and  not  as  a 
sheriff  of  the  Law.  Hear  the  Apostle  Peter  once 
more,  as,  pointing  to  him  who  had  been  raised  from 
the  dead  and  seated  in  the  heavenlies,  he  says : 
"  By  him  every  one  that  believeth  is  justified  from 
all  things  from  which  ye  could  not  be  justified  by 
the  law  of  Moses "  (Acts  13  :  39,  R.  V.).  Justifi- 
cation, in  the  evangelical  sense,  is  but  another  name 
for  judgment  prejudged  and  condemnation  ended. 
In  the  enthroned  Christ  every  question  about  sin  is 
answered,  and  every  claim  of  a  violated  law  is  abso- 
lutely met ;  and  though  there  is  no  abatement  in 
the  demands  of  the  decalogue,  yet  because  "  Christ 
has  become  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to 
every  one  that  believeth,"  now  "grace  reigns 
through  righteousness  unto  eternal  life  by  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord."  Strange  paradox  set  forth  in 
Isaiah's  passion  psalm :  "  By  his  stripes  we  are 
healed"  as  though  it  were  told  us  that  sin's  smiting 
had  procured  sin's  remission.  And  so  it  is.  If 
the  Holy  Spirit  shows  us  the  wounds  of  the  dying 
Christ  for  condemning  us,  he  immediately  shows  us 
the  wounds  of  the  exalted  Christ  for  comforting  us, 


THE  CONVICTION  OF  THE  SPIRIT  199 

His  glorified  body  is  death's  certificate  of  discharge, 
the  law's  receipt  in  full,  assuring  us  that  all  the 
penalties  of  transgression  have  been  endured,  and 
the  Sin-bearer  acquitted. 

The  meaning  of  this  last  conviction  seems  plain 
therefore:  "  Of  judgment^  because  the  prince  of  this 
world  is  judged."  Recall  the  words  of  Jesus  as  he 
stood  face  to  face  with  the  cross :  "  Now  is  the 
judgment  of  this  world ;  now  shall  the  prince  of 
this  world  be  cast  out"  (John  12  :  31).  "The 
accuser  of  the  brethren  "  is  at  last  non-suited  and 
ejected  from  court.  The  death  of  Christ  is  the 
death  of  death,  and  of  the  author  of  death  also. 
"  That  through  death  he  might  destroy  him  that 
hath  the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil ;  and 
deliver  them  who,  through  fear  of  death,  were  all 
their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage  "  (Heb.  2  :  14,  1 5). 
If  the  relation  of  Satan  to  our  judgment  and  con- 
demnation is  mysterious,  this  much  is  clear,  from 
this  and  several  passages,  that  Christ  by  his  cross 
has  delivered  us  from  his  dominion.  We  must 
believe  that  Jesus  spoke  the  literal  truth  when  he 
said  :  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  he  that  hear- 
eth  my  word  and  believeth  him  that  sent  me,  hath 
eternal  life,  and  cometh  not  into  judgment,  but  hath 
passed  out  of  death  into  life  "  (John  5  :  24,  R.  V.). 
On  the  cross  Christ  judged  sin  and  acquitted  those 
who  believe  on  him ;  and  in  heaven  he  defends 
them  against  every  re-arrest  by  a  violated  law. 


200  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

"  There  is  therefore  now  no  condemnation  to  them 
that  are  in  Christ  Jesus  "  (Rom.  8  :  i).  Thus  the 
threefold  conviction  brings  the  sinner  the  three 
stages  of  Christ's  redemptive  work,  past  judgment 
and  past  condemnation  into  eternal  acceptance 
with  the  Father. 

In  striking  antithesis  with  all  this,  we  have  an 
instance  in  the  Acts  of  the  threefold  conviction  of 
conscience,  when  Paul  before  Felix  "reasoned  of 
righteousness,  and  temperance,  and  the  judgment  to 
come"  (Acts  24  :  25).     Here  the  sin  of  a  profligate 
life  was  laid  bare  as  the  apostle  discoursed  of  chas- 
tity ;  the  claims  of  righteousness  were  vindicated,  and 
the  certainty  of  coming  judgment  exhibited ;  and 
with  the  only  effect  that  "  Felix  trembled."     So  it 
must  ever  be  under  the  convictions  of  conscience, 
— compunction  but  not  peace.     We  have  also  an 
instructive  contrast  exhibited  in  Scripture,  between 
the  co-witness  of  the  Spirit  and  the  co-witness  of 
conscience.     "  The   Spirit  himself  beareth  witness 
(ffo/jifiapTupsf)  that  we  are  the  children  of  God  "  (Rom. 
8  :  1 6).     Here  is  the  assurance  of  sonship,  with  all 
the  divine  inward  persuasion  of  freedom  from  con- 
demnation which  it  carries.     On  the  other  hand 
is  the  conviction  of  the  heathen,  who  have  only  the 
law  written  in  their  hearts  :  "  Their  conscience  bear- 
ing witness  (ffv/j./j.apTupou<rr]<;)t  their  thoughts  one  with 
another  accusing,  or  else  excusing  them,  in  the  day 
when  God  shall  judge  the  secrets  of  men  "  (Rom. 


THE  CONVICTION  OF  THE  SPIRIT          2OI 

2  :  15,  1 6).  Conscience  can  "accuse,"  and  how  uni- 
versally it  does  so,  abundant  testimony  of  Christian 
missionaries  shows  ;  and  conscience  can  "  excuse," 
which  is  the  method  that  guilty  thoughts  invariably 
suggest ;  but  conscience  cannot  justify.  Only  the 
Spirit  of  truth,  whom  the  Father  hath  sent  forth 
into  the  world,  can  do  this.  The  work  of  the  two 
witnesses  may  be  thus  set  in  contrast : 

The     Comforter    Convinces — 


Conscience  Convinces — 
Of  sin  committed  ; 
Of  righteousness  impossible ; 
Of  judgment  impending. 


Of  sin  committed  ; 

Of  righteousness  imputed  ; 

Of  judgment   accomplished. 


Happily  these  two  witnesses  may  be  harmonized, 
as  they  are  by  that  atonement  which  reconciles  man 
to  himself,  as  well  as  reconciles  man  to  God.  Very 
significantly  does  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  in 
inviting  our  approach  to  God  make,  as  the  condi- 
tion of  that  approach,  the  "having  our  hearts 
sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience"  As  the  High 
Priest  carried  the  blood  into  the  Holy  of  Holies  in 
connection  with  the  old  dispensation,  so  does  the 
Spirit  take  the  blood  of  Christ  into  the  inner  sanc- 
tuary of  our  spirit  in  the  more  wondrous  economy 
of  the  new  dispensation,  in  order  that  he  may 
"  cleanse  your  conscience  from  dead  works  to  serve 
the  living  God  "  (Heb.  9  :  14).  Blessed  is  the  man 
who  is  thus  made  at  one  with  himself  while  made 
at  one  with  God,  so  that  he  can  say :  "  I  say  the 
truth  in  Christ,  I  lie  not,  my  conscience  also  bear- 


2O2  THE    MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

ing  me  witness  in  the  Holy  Ghost"  (Rom.  9  :  n). 
The  believer's  conscience  dwelling  in  the  Spirit, 
even  as  his  life  is  "hid  with  Christ  in  God,"  both 
having  the  same  mind  and  bearing  the  same  testi- 
mony— this  is  the  end  of  redemption  and  this  is 
the  victory  of  the  atoning  blood. 


X 

THE  ASCENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT 


"  The  Apostle  Paul  evidently  saw  the  redemption  of  the 
bodies  of  the  saints  and  their  manifestation  as  the  sons  of 
God  and  with  them  the  redemption  of  the  whole  creation 
from  its  present  bondage  to  be  the  complete  harvest  of  the 
Spirit,  whereof  the  church  doth  now  possess  only  the  first- 
fruits,  that  is,  the  first  ripe  grains  which  could  be  formed  into 
a  sheaf  and  presented  in  the  temple  as  a  wave-offering  unto 
the  Lord.  '  That  Holy  Spirit  of  Promise  which  is  the  earn- 
est of  our  inheritance,'  saith  the  same  apostle — the  earnest, 
like  the  first-fruit,  being  only  a  part  of  that  which  is  to 
be  earned.  .  .  yet  a  sufficient  surety  that  the  whole  shall 
in  the  fullness  of  the  times,  be  likewise  ours." — Edward 
Irving. 


THE   ASCENT   OF   THE    SPIRIT 

" TT E  that  descended  is  the  same  also  that  ascended 
-i-1  up  far  above  all  heavens."  So  writes  the 
apostle  concerning  the  Paraclete  who  is  now  with 
the  Father,  "  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous  "  (Eph.  4  : 
9).  And  what  is  true  of  the  one  is  true  of  that 
"  other  Paraclete,"  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  was  sent 
down  to  abide  with  us  during  this  age.  When  he 
has  accomplished  his  temporal  mission  in  the  world 
he  will  return  to  heaven  in  the  body  which  he  has 
fashioned  for  himself — that  "one  new  man,"  the 
regenerate  church,  gathered  out  from  both  Jews 
and  Gentiles  during  this  dispensation.  For  what  is 
the  rapture  of  the  saints  predicted  by  the  apostle 
when,  at  the  sound  of  the  trumpet  and  the  resur- 
rection of  the  righteous  dead,  "we  which  are  alive 
and  remain  shall  be  caught  up  together  with  them  in 
the  clouds  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air?"  (i  Thess 
4  :  17.)  It  is  the  earthly  Christ  rising  to  meet  the 
heavenly  Christ ;  the  elect  church,  gathered  in  the 
Spirit  and  named  O;^O:<JTOC,  (i  Cor.  12  :  12,)  taken 
up  to  be  united  in  glory  with  "  Christ,  the  Head  of 
the  church,  himself  the  Saviour  of  the  body  "  (Eph. 

s  205 


206  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

5  :  23,  R.  V.).  In  the  council  at  Jerusalem  this  is  an- 
nounced as  the  distinctive  work  of  the  Spirit  in  this 
dispensation  "to  gather  out  a  people  for  his  name" 
It  was  not  by  accident  and  as  a  term  of  derision 
that  the  first  believers  received  their  name ;  but 
"  the  disciples  were  divinely  called  Christians  first 
in  Antioch  "  (Acts  11  :  26).  This  was  the  name 
pre-ordained  for  them,  that  "  honorable  name "  by 
which  they  are  called  (James  2  :  7).  When,  there- 
fore, this  out-gathering  shall  have  been  accom- 
plished, and  the  people  for  his  name  shall  be  com- 
pleted, they  will  be  translated  to  be  one  with  him 
in  glory,  as  they  were  one  with  him  in  name,  the 
Head  taking  the  body  to  himself,  "  as  Christ  also, 
the  church  "  (Eph.  5  :  29).  And  this  translation  of 
the  church  is  to  be  effected  by  the  Holy  Spirit  who 
dwells  in  her.  "But  if  the  Spirit  of  him  that 
raised  up  Jesus  from  the  dead  dwell  in  you,  he  that 
raised  up  Christ  from  the  dead  shall  also  quicken 
your  mortal  bodies  by  his  Spirit  that  dwelleth  in 
you  (Rom.  8  :  n).  It  is  not  by  acting  upon  the 
body  of  Christ  from  without,  but  by  energizing  it 
from  within,  that  the  Holy  Ghost  will  effect  its 
glorification.  In  a  word,  the  Comforter,  who  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  came  down  to  form  a  body 
out  of  flesh,  will  at  the  Parousia  return  to  heaven 
in  that  body,  having  fashioned  it  like  unto  the  body 
of  Christ,  that  it  may  be  presented  to  him  "not 
having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing,  .  .  holy 


THE  ASCENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  207 

and  without  blemish  "  (Eph.  5  :  27).  Is  it  meant  to 
be  implied  in  what  is  here  said  that  the  Comforter 
is  to  leave  the  world  at  the  time  of  the  advent,  to 
return  no  more  ?  By  no  means.  And  yet  what  is 
meant  needs  to  be  very  explicitly  set  forth. 

A  very  able  writer  on  the  doctrine  of  the  Spirit 
makes  this  remark,  so  striking  and  yet  so  true  that 
we  have  put  it  in  italics  :  "  As  Christ  shall  ulti- 
mately give  up  his  kingdom  to  the  Father  (i  Cor.  15 
:  24—28),  so  the  Holy  Ghost  shall  give  up  his  admin- 
istration to  the  Son,  when  he  comes  in  glory  and  all 
his  holy  angels  with  him"  1  The  church  and  the 
kingdom  are  not  identical  terms,  if  we  mean  by  the 
kingdom  the  visible  reign  and  government  of  Jesus 
Christ  on  earth.  In  another  sense  they  are  iden- 
tical. As  the  King,  so  the  kingdom.  The  King  is 
present  now  in  the  world,  only  invisibly  and  by  the 
Holy  Spirit ;  so  the  kingdom  is  now  present  invisi- 
bly and  spiritually  in  the  hearts  of  believers.  The 
King  is  to  come  again  visibly  and  gloriously ;  so 
shall  the  kingdom  appear  visibly  and  gloriously.  In 
other  words,  the  kingdom  is  already  here  in  mys- 
tery :  it  is  to  be  here  in  manifestation.  Now  the 
spiritual  kingdom  is  administered  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  it  extends  from  Pentecost  to  Parousia. 
At  the  Parousia — the  appearing  of  the  Son  of  Man 
in  glory — when  he  shall  take  unto  himself  his  great 
power  and  reign  (Rev.  n  :  17),  when  he  who  has 

1  "Through  the  Eternal  Spirit,"  by  Elder  Gumming,  D.  D.,  p.  185. 


208  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

now  gone  into  a  far  country,  to  be  invested  with  a 
kingdom,  shall  return  and  enter  upon  his  govern- 
ment (Luke  19  :  15),  then  the  invisible  shall  give 
way  to  the  visible ;  the  kingdom  in  mysteiy  shall 
emerge  into  the  kingdom  hi  manifestation,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit's  administration  shall  yield  to  that  of 
Christ. 

Here  our  discussion  properly  ends,  since  the  age- 
ministry  of  the  Holy  Spirit  terminates  with  the 
return  of  Jesus  Christ  hi  glory.  But  there  is  an 
"age  to  come"  (Heb.  6  :  5),  succeeding  "the  pres- 
ent evil  age  "  (Gal.  I  :  4),  and  we  may,  in  closing, 
take  a  glimpse  at  that  for  the  light  which  it  may 
throw  upon  the  present  dispensation. 

What  significance  has  the  phrase,  "  the  first-fruits 
of  the  Spirit"  which  several  times  occurs  in  the 
New  Testament  ?  The  first-fruits  is  but  a  handful 
compared  with  the  whole  harvest ;  and  this  is  what 
we  have  in  the  gift  of  "  the  Holy  Spirit  of  promise, 
which  is  the  earnest  of  our  inheritance  until  the  re- 
demption of  the  purchased  possession  "  (Eph.  1:13, 
14).  The  harvest,  to  which  all  the  first-fruits  look 
forward,  is  at  the  appearing  of  the  Lord.  Christ, 
by  his  rising  from  the  dead,  became  "  the  first-fruits 
of  them  that  slept"  (i  Cor.  15  :  20).  The  full  har- 
vest, of  course,  is  at  the  advent,  when  "  they  that  are 
Christ's  at  his  coming  "  shall  be  raised  up  (i  Cor. 
15:23).  So  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  We  have  all  the 
Spirit,  but  not  all  of  the  Spirit.  As  a  person  of 


THE  ASCENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  209 

the  God-head,  he  is  here  in  his  entirety ;  but  as  ta 
his  ministry,  we  have  as  yet  but  a  part  or  earnest 
of  his  full  blessing.  To  make  this  statement  plain, 
let  us  observe  that  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
during  this  entire  dispensation,  is  elective.  He 
gathers  from  Jew  and  Gentile  the  body  of  Christ, 
the  ecclesia,  the  called-out.  This  is  his  peculiar 
work  in  this  gospel  age.  In  a  word,  the  present  is 
the  age  of  election,  and  not  of  universal  ingath- 
ering. 

But  is  this  all  we  have  to  hope  for  ?  Let  the 
word  of  God  answer.  Paul,  hi  considering  the 
hope  of  Israel,  says  that  there  is  at  this  present 
time  "a  remnant  according  to  the  election  of  grace" ; 
and  a  little  farther  on  he  declares  that  in  connec- 
tion with  the  coming  of  the  Deliverer  "  all  Israel 
shall  be  saved"  (Rom.  11:5,  26).  Here  is  an  elec- 
tive out-gathering,  and  then  a  universal  in-gather- 
ing; or,  as  the  apostle  sums  it  up  in  this  same 
chapter :  "  If  the  first-fruits  be  koly,  so  also  the 
lump"  On  the  other  hand,  James,  speaking  by 
the  Holy  Ghost  concerning  the  Gentiles,  says  first 
that  "  God  did  visit  the  Gentiles  to  take  out  of  them 
a  people  for  his  name"  and  " after  this  will  I  re- 
turn," etc.,  "that  the  residue  of  men  might  seek 
after  the  Lord,  and  all  the  Gentiles  upon  whom  my 
name  is  called,  saith  the  Lord"  (Acts  15  :  14,  17). 
Here,  again,  is  first  an  elective  out-gathering  and 
then  a  total  in- gathering. 


210  THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

Now,  by  looking  at  other  scriptures,  it  seems 
clear  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  divine  agent  in 
both  these  redemptions,  the  partial  and  the  total. 
If  we  refer  to  Joel's  great  prophecy  :  "  /  will  pour 
out  my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh"  and  then  to  Peter's 
reference  to  the  same,  as  recorded  in  the  Acts,  we 
are  led  to  ask,  Was  this  prediction  completely  ful- 
filled on  the  day  of  Pentecost  ?  Clearly  not. 
Peter,  with  inspired  accuracy,  says :  "  This  is  that 
which  was  spoken  by  the  prophet  Joel"  without  af- 
firming that  herein  the  prophecy  of  Joel  was  entirely 
fulfilled.  Turning  back  to  the  prediction  itself,  we 
find  that  it  includes  within  its  sweep  "  the  great  and 
the  terrible  day  of  the  Lord,"  and  the  "  bringing 
again  of  the  captivity  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem " 
(Joel  2:3153:1),  events  which  are  clearly  yet  future. 
If  again  we  examine  the  vivid  prophecy  of  Israel's 
conversion,  we  observe  that  their  looking  upon  him 
whom  they  pierced,  and  mourning  for  him,  follows 
the  prediction :  "  And  I  will  pour  upon  the  house 
of  David,  and  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Jerualem  the 
Spirit  of  grace  and  supplication"  (Zech.  12  :  10). 
So  in  the  picture  of  the  desolations  of  Jerusalem, 
as  they  have  actually  existed  during  the  present  age, 
the  prophet  represents  this  judgment  of  thorns  and 
briars  and  forsaken  palaces  and  desertion  of  popu- 
lation, as  continuing  "  until  the  Spirit  be  poured  upon 
us  from  on  high  "  (Isaiah  32  :  15). 

Indeed  the  Scriptures  seem  to  be  harmonious  in 


THE  ASCENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  211 

their  teaching  that,  after  the  present  elective  work 
of  the  Spirit  has  been  completed,  there  will  come  a 
time  of  universal  blessing,  when  the  Spirit  shall  lit- 
erally be  "poured  out  upon  all  flesh"  ;  when  "that 
which  is  perfect  shall  come  "  and  "  that  which  is  in 
part  shall  be  done  away." 

Thus  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Spirit  there  is  a  con- 
stant reference  to  the  final  consummation.  "  The 
Holy  Spirit  of  God,  in  whom  ye  were  sealed  unto 
the  day  of  redemption"  says  Paul  (Eph.  4  :  30). 
Again  :  "  Ourselves  also  which  have  the  first-fruits 
of  the  Spirit,  even  we  ourselves,  groan  within  our- 
selves, waiting  for  the  adoption,  to  wit,  the  redemp- 
tion of  our  body"  (Rom.  8  :  23). 

All  which  the  Comforter  has  yet  brought  us,  or 
can  now  bring  us,  is  only  the  first  sheaf  of  the 
great  harvest  of  redemption  which  awaits  us  on  our 
Lord's  return.  "Ye  have  received  the  Spirit  of 
adoption,  whereby  we  cry  Abba,  Father"  (Rom. 
8  :  15);  but  for  the  adoption  itself  we  wait ;  sons 
of  God  already  by  birth  from  above,  we  with  the 
whole  creation  yet  wait  for  "  the  manifestation  of 
the  sons  of  God"  (Rom.  8  :  19). 

To  his  tender  exhortation  to  be  patient  until  the 
coming  of  the  Lord,  which  James  writes  in  the 
first  chapter  of  his  epistle,  there  is  added  the  sug- 
gestive illustration  :  "  Behold  the  husbandman  wait- 
eth  for  the  precious  fruit  of  the  earth,  being  patient 
over  it  until  it  receive  the  early  and  latter  rain." 


213  THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

As  in  husbandry  the  one  rain  belonged  to  the  time 
of  sowing,  and  the  other  to  the  time  of  harvest,  so 
in  redemption  the  early  rain  of  the  Spirit  was  at 
Pentecost,  the  latter  rain  will  be  at  the  Parousia ; 
the  one  fell  upon  the  world  as  the  first  sowers 
went  forth  into  the  world  to  sow,  the  other  will  ac- 
company "the  harvest  which  is  the  end  of  the  age," 
and  will  fructify  the  earth  for  the  final  blessing  of 
the  age  to  come,  bringing  repentance  to  Israel  and 
the  remission  of  sins,  "  that  the  times  of  refreshing 
may  come  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  that 
he  may  send  Jesus  Christ,  before  appointed  for  you, 
whom  the  heavens  must  receive  until  the  times  of 
the  restitution  of  all  things"  (Acts  3  :  19-21). 


SCRIPTURE  INDEX 


PAGE 

QenesU  50  : 13 .... 182 

Exodus  30  :  30-33  _ »  156 

Leviticus  14_ „  28 

Leviticus  23  :  11-16 29 

Leviticus  8  :  12 „ « 

Leviticus  14  :  17 _  89 

1  Samuel  16  : 15 „    88 

2  Samuel  23:2,3 171 

1  Bangs  19  : 16 88 

Psalms  133  : 1,  2 68 

Psalms  17  :  15 114 

Psalms  84  :  6 — >  124 

Psalms  17  : 15 126 

Isaiah  11 :  2 76 

Isaiah  59  :  20 176 

Isaiah  32  :  15 210 

Joel  2 :  31 210 

Joel  3  :  L. 210 

Amos  9  :  11 176 

Zechariah  12  :  10 -  210 

Matthew  3  :  11 -    56 

Matthew  12  :  28 75 

Matthew  3  : 11,  R.  V 76 

Matthew  16  :  24,  25 '  108 


Pifil 

Matthew  6  :  27,  R.  V .„  115 

Matthew  18:  19 -  149 

Mark  13  :  32._ 47 

Mark  12:  36  171 

Luke  3  :  22 76 

Luke  4  :  !„ -    82 

Luke  4  : 18 88 

Luke  10  :  2 137 

Luke  2:  1,2 182 

Luke  2  :  34,  36 189 

Luke  19  : 15 „  208 

John  14  :  23  _ 20 

John  1 : 14 23 

John  20:17 -  31 

John  15  :  26 35 

John  14  : 16 38 

John  14  : 18 ;  14  :  26 ;  16  : 13 39 

John  16  :  7 „  40 

John  14  :  28 42 

John  16  : 15 43 

John  14  : 12  ;  15  : 26..... 44 

John  16  :  8-10 45 

John  16  : 12, 13 ., 46 

John  16  : 13,  R.  V -  47 

John  16  :  7 ~  49 

John  14  : 18 ;  14  :  3 - 50 

John  1 :  33 58 

John  3  : 16 ;  1 : 12 .    67 

John  1 :  33... 76 

John  6  :  27 ..„.  77 

John  3  :  33 _ 78 

John  2  :  23,  24 79 

213 


214 


SCRIPTURAL  INDEX 


John   16-13;     14  :  17;    15 

:  26; 

Acts  11  :  26  

PAOB 

206 

16  :  13  
John  3  •  31  •  8  :  23  

92 
101 

Acts  15  :  14,  17  
Acts  3  :  19  

_  209 
212 

John  3  •  7,  R.  V  

John  13  -35  

_  113 

45 

John  1  :  16  

124 

Romans  8:  9  „  

57 

John  14-23-  

138 

62 

John  16-  23_  

„  147 

64 

John  20  :  22,  R.  V  

.......  165 

81 

John  6  :  63,  R.  V._  

.....  107 

John  15  :  15;   17  :  8  

175 

109 

John  16  :  8,  R.  V.  ;  14  :  17  .... 

187 

Romans  6:  11,  R.  V  _  

no 

John  16  :  8,  'R.  V  

„   igS 

Romans  8  -  13  •  8-2 

.  .  Ill 

John  15  •  22  

189 

Romans  15  •  30 

112 

John  15  :  26,  27  

_  195 

Romans  8:  23;  8:  11  

119 

John  16  :  13,  R.  V.;  14  :  19.... 

196 

Romans  12:  2  R.  V  „  

...  123 

John  12  :  81  ;  5  :  24  R.  V.- 

124 

Acts  9  :  31._  

.    50 

Romans  8:  26,  27,  R.  V-  __ 
Romans  8  •  26  ........        

143 
..  173 

Acts  2  :  41  ;  5  :  14  •  11  •  24 

Romans  11:  26  

176 

Acts  10  :  38  „  

58 

Romans  3-  2,  R.  V  

179 

Acts  11  •  16         

200 

Acts  2  :38  

69 

Romans  2  -15  16  

.  ...  201 

Acts  8  :  14-17  

74 

202 

Acts  1  :  2  

75 

..   .  206 

Acts  2  :  4  

82 

Romans  11:  5  26  

209 

Acts  9  :  17;  4  :  8  

„    83 

Romans  8:  23;  8:  15;  8:19  

211 

Acts  4  :  31  ;  6  :  5  

_    84 

Acts  4  :  27,  R.  V.  ;  10  :  38 

.......    88 

1  Corinthians  12-  12    ._  

.  54 

Acts  15  -28  _.. 

132 

1  Corinthians  12-  13 

60 

Acts  20  •  28  R  V 

134 

1  Corinthians  10:  1  

57 

Acts  10:  44..  

145 

1  Corinthians  2:  11,  R.  V  _. 

....    90 

Acts  5  :  9  _        

1  Corinthians  12:  3  

....    91 

Acts  1  •  8,  R  V  

159 

1  Corinthians  15:  51,  52  

120 

Acts  13:  2;  13:4;  13:9;  18: 
Acts  15  •  8  •  15  •  28  •  16-6  7 

52™  160 
161 

1  Corinthians  15:  52;  15:  44..... 
1  Corinthians  3  -  16  

....  125 
....  130 

Acts  1  •  16 

171 

1  Corinthians  2-  4  „  

....  143 

Acts  15  •  16  

176 

1  Corinthians  10:  11  

....  156 

Acts  7  •  38 

180 

1  Corinthians  12:  11,  R.  V  

....  166 

Acts  7  •  16 

182 

..._  173 

Acts  3  •  14  15                .... 

1  Corinthians  14:  37..-  

....  180 

Acts  2-  33-  5  •  30-32 

194 

1  Corinthians  2:  9,  10  

....  181 

Acts  13-39  R.  V 

198 

1  Corinthian*  12:  3,  R.  V  

195 

Acts  24  :  25  

.._  200 

1  Corinthians  6:  11.... 

....  194 

SCRIPTURAL,   INDEX 


215 


PAGE 

1  Corinthians  2 :  9,  10 197 

1  Corinthians  12: 12 20i 

1  Corinthians  15:  24-28 207 

1  Corinthians  16:  20 ;  15:  23. 208 

2  Corinthians  1 :  21,  22 78 

2  Corinthians  1 :  21,  R.  V „ 

2  Corinthians  5: 14,  R.  V _  110 

2  Corinthians  3 : 18,  K.  V 113 

2  Corinthians  3:  18...... _  123 

2  Corinthians  3 _ 132 

Galatians5:  25 57 

Galatians4:  6 69 

Galatians3:2;  3:14 — 71 

Galatians  4 : 19. 94 

Galatians  2 :  20,  B.  V 110 

Galatians  5:  16 116 

Galatians  1 :  14. 123 

Galatians  1: 1 136 

Galatians  6 :  2. 155 

Galatians  6:  8,  R.  V 160 

Galatians  1:4. 208 

Ephesians  1 :  7 ;  3:16 42 

Ephesians  1 :  20,  21 45 

Ephesians  4:  5.. 56 

Ephesians  6:  18 57 

Ephesians  4: 16 61 

Ephesians  1: 13 77 

Ephesians  4:  30™ 80 

EphesiansS:  18 87 

Ephesians  4:  24 .. 106 

Ephesians  2: 1 .. 107 

Ephesians  4:  8-12,  R.  V 134 

Ephesians  6: 18™ 148 

EphesiansS-:  19 ~  153 

Ephesians  2 :  22,  R.  V. ;  3 :  16,  R. 

V.;  2:  18,  R.  V 154 

Ephesians  4:  9 _ 205 

Ephesians  6  :  23;  5  :  29 „  206 

EphesiansS:  27 207 

Ephesians  1: 13, 14 208 

Ephesians  4:  30. 211 


PAQK 

Philippians  2 :  6,  7,  R.  V 42, 43 

Colossians  1 :  24 63 

ColossiansS:  10 106 

Colossians  2:  13 107 

Colossians  3 :  2,  5,  R.  V 110 

Colossians  3: 16 _  155 

1  Thessalonians  2 : 19 60 

1  Thessalonians  3  :  13 _    60 

1  Thessalonians  1 :  9 102 

1  Thessalonians  5:  23,  R.  V 122 

1  Thessalonians  1 :  5 _  144 

1  Thessalonians  1:6 145 

1  Thessalonians  4 :  18 _  155 

1  Thessalonians  4:  17 205 

2  Thessalonians  2 :  4 130 

2  Timothy  2:  19 78 

2  Timothy  3:  16_ _ 168 

Titus  2 : 13,  R.  V 119 

Hebrews  1 :  9 ;...    69 

Hebrews  9 : 14. 76 

Hebrews  1 :  3 91 

Hebrews  6  :  4,  5,  R.  V _  121 

Hebrews  6  :  5,  R.  V 123 

Hebrews  2  :  4 144 

Hebrews  7  :  25,  R.  V 148 

Hebrews  3:  13 156 

Hebrews  3  :  15 158 

Uebrews3:7 '. 171 

Hebrews  1 :  3 193 

Hebrews  10  : 14,  15 195 

Hebrews  9  :  8 196 

Hebrews  2: 14,15 199 

Hebrews  9  :  14 201 

Hebrews6:5 208 

James  1:18 105 

James  3  : 15 126 

James  5  :  16  ;  5  :  16,  R.  V 155 


216 


SCRIPTURAL  INDEX 


James  2  •  7                 .».  - 

PISE 

.........  208 

1  John  2  •  27~  

PAOB 

90 

1  John  1  •  3_  

^..    99 

1  Peter  4  •  6               .......... 

.„  57 

1  John  1  •  8-  3-9  ... 

116 

1  Peter  2  :  9,  R.  V  

.........    89 

1  John  3:6,  6._  

_  117 

1  Peter  1  :  23,  R.  V  ... 

105 

1  John  3  :  2,  R.  V._. 

124 

1  Peter  4  *  14— 

.........  118 

1  John  4  :  16  

_  180 

1  Peter  1:  12-  

143 

1  John  2:  1  

_  195 

1  Peter  1  •  22.           

155 

1  Peter  1  •  23  R.  V-          .... 

170 

jnde  1  •  24....... 

......  123 

1  Peter  1  :  11  „ 

„  174 

Jude  1  :  19  

126 

1  Peter  4:  11-  

.._....  180 

Jude  1  :  20_  

148 

1  Peter  3  :  18_  ....  

.._...«  191 

Revelation  22  :  17  .... 

50 

Z  Peter  1-4  R.  V  

„  104 

Revelation  1  :  18...  .. 

61 

2  Peter  1  :  21,  R.  V-  ~ 

.  175 

Revelation  3  •  3..    ... 

,  „    7$ 

133 

1  John  2  :  1  „  

88 

Revelation  2:7;  14  : 

13  ....  17t 

1  John  2  :  30  

-    89 

Revelation  11  :  17  

W7 

GENERAL  INDEX 


PAGE 

Adam :  fall  of. - 102 

child  of. 106 

nature  derived  from _ 107 

inheritance  from 118 

Adam  life:  birth  into 104 

AdolphMonod:  farewell  of. 184 

Age  of  the  Spirit :  denned 16 

Age-work  :  continuance  of. 16 

Ambrose:  observation  of 81 

Ananias  and  Sapphira :  sin  of..  22,  23 
Andrews,  Bishop:  beautiful  words 

Of 64 

Anointing  :  importance  of. 88,  89 

examples  of 89 

Ante-Pentecostal  days :  spiritual 

nonage  of 48 

Apostles :  Matthias  chosen  by 136 

prerogatives  of...... 166 

order  of,  ceased 167 

Asceticism:   inversion  of  divine 

order Ill 

Augustine :  quotation  from 18 

calls  Pentecost 19 

saying  of  true 20 

replies  to  rationalists 181 

Baptism  :  a  monogram 109 

Baptized  :  into  Moses 57 

Bengel :  statement  of. 89 

Bible:  Holy  Qhost  breathes  with- 
in it 170 

divine  author  of. -  177 

infallibility  of. 179 

a  sensitive  plant 181 


TA.OS 
Bickers  teth,    E.    II.:     quotation 

from 81 

Boys,  E.:  extract  from 68 

Butler,  Archer:  quotation  from...  .30 

Calvary:  typology  of. 28 

once  for  all 59 

Calvin,  John  :  quotation  from.....  34 

Canon  Garratt :  excerpt  from......  137 

Cartwright :  extract  from _  192 

Choirs  :  composed  of. 154 

Christ:  life  of. -  14 

on  earth _  21 

inspired  characterizations  of....  23 

image  of 24 

fulfills  all  types 26 

our  Passover 29 

earthly  work  of,  completed 80 

ready  to  be  communicated 80 

expiatory  work  of. 81 

accepted  by  God 31 

foretells  Comforter 39 

the  testator 41 

indwelling  of. 42 

generosity  of. 43 

earthly — equal  to 44 

power  to  impart 45 

coronation  of 46 

prayers  of. 60 

mystical  body  of. 53 

present  by _  53 

visible  union  of -  54 

manifestation  of. 60 

Indwelt  by 61 

T  217 


218 


INDEX 


mm 

Chrlat :  description  of......... ......._    61 

vivifying  power  of..~..._ 62 

disfigured.- 64 

twofold  manifestation  of.. ......._    64 

faith  of,  ignored _    68 

our  justification _    69 

effective  service  for 74 

example  in  all  things 75 

our  pattern 76 

endued  by  the  Spirit 76 

possessed  by 77 

holiness  essential  to -    80 

draws  to  himself. 81 

justification  in 89 

the  Holy  One 89 

deityof. .. 91 

image  of  God 91 

conformity  to 94 

made  atonement , —    95 

treasure  hidden  in 100 

the  heart  of  the  church 100 

begotten  by  Holy  Ghost 106 

origin  of  life 107 

nature  derived  from _  108 

came  as  Saviour -  109 

efficacy  of  his  sacrifice 110 

victory  through -  111 

manifested  love  of. 113 

pattern  of  God „ 114 

imparting  life. - 117 

inheritance  from 118 

official  seat  of. 130 

bride  of,  betrayed. 133 

living  roice  of. 139 

identification  with 147 

helping  us  to  pray _  149 

attitude  of,  described 174 

divinity  ol 177 

spirit  of,  necessary 179 

threefold  work  of- 188 

died  for  the  sins  of  the  world...  190 

satisfied  God _  191 

perfected  righteousness 192 

our  High  Priest 193 


PAQl 

Christ:  resurrection  of. 194 

enthronement  of __  195 

lifted  to  heaven 196 

continuance  of  within  the  veil-  197 

not  seen  by  the  world _  197 

reflected  by  the  Spirit.... „  197 

answers  all  questions 198 

death  of _  199 

judged  sin  on  the  cross 199 

redemptive  work  of - 200 

administration  of 208 

the  first-lruits _  208 

Christ-life:  spiritual  birth  into....  104 

Christian  Church  :  home  of  the 
Spirit _ 20 

Christian  doctrine :  undeveloped..    46 

Christian  life:  crisis  in 84 

a  gradual  growth. 94 

possibilities  of- 96 

Christians:  good  text  for 68 

ignorance  of- 73 

privilege  of. 93 

belief  of.-.. 117 

possessors  of  the  Spirit 165 

prove  veracity  of  Scripture- 183 

divine  naming  of. 206 

Church :  first  capital  sin  of. 22 

temple  of  God 24 

Image  of. — - 25 

greater  riches  for. 48 

history  of  begun.....— 53 

definition  of. - 53 

formation  of - 54 

introduction  into 55 

unsanctified,  sometimes 69 

to  be  like  Jesus 61 

appellation  of. _    62 

complement  of  her  Lord _...    63 

disfigures  Christ- 64 

Paraclete  abides  in 68 

effective  service  in 74 

monograph  of. 78 

Christ  the  heart  of. 100 

the  temple  of  God 130 


INDEX 


219 


PAGE 

Church :  guidance  of  the  Lord  for  132 

is  manifold 137 

dead  yet  living 138 

appointments  in  State _  139 

Spirit  withdrawn  from 141 

feature  of  worship  in 164 

service  of,  described 165 

fellowship  with  Head  of. 155 

requirements  of. 161, 162 

Spirit  sent  unto 188 

communications  of  to  the  world  197 
translation  of 206 

Comforter:  another  given 15 

indwelling  of 21 

coming  of. 22 

presence  of. 32 

foretold  by  Christ 89 

reverent  subjection  of. 40 

ignorant  of. 74 

Jesus'  promise  of. _ 99 

witness  of  the 143 

sending  of  the 147 

ministry  of  the 148 

return  of  to  heaven 206 

consolation  of 211 

Communion:  significance  of 99 

through  Holy  Spirit „  107 

Conscience:  definition  and  work 

of 189 

accusing  power  of. 201 

Conversion:  definition  of 78 

Course  of  redemption :  Moberly's 
divisions 16 

Cross:  plain  attractions  of. 158 

Gumming,   J.   Elder :    quotation 

from 72, 73 

excerpt  from „.. 85,  86 

quotation  from 128, 207 

Day  of  Pentecost :    Holy  Spirit 

embodied  in  the  church  at 21 

Death:  division  of. 109 

Disciple:  requirements  of. 115 

Dispensation :  mystery  and  glory 
Of „ 25 


FAGS 

Divine  lore:  source  of... 112 

Divine  ministries :  succession  of...    26 

Ephesians:  description  in 24 

Exodus :  typical  illustration  of.....    68 

Father:  Jesus' return  to 14 

Felix:  reference  to 200 

Fuller,  Andrew :  statement  of. 191 

Qaussen's  Theopneustia :    quota- 
tion from 164 

Gentiles:  door  opened  to 59 

God:  omnipresence  of...., -    21 

union  of,  to  humanity 22 

indwelling  with  men 23 

becomes  known 24 

emanation  from - 88 

witness  of. 77 

withholding  from 79 

claims  of ~ 109 

Christ,  pattern  of. 114 

total  surrender  to 116 

action  of  Spirit  of. 122 

manifestation  of. 124 

all  in  all 136 

created  all  men. 103 

communion  with,  imperiled 158 

Godet:  beautiful  words  of... _     84 

Godhead :  mysterious  unity  of....    15 

persons  of 20 

co-equal  partner  in 21 

earthly  ministry  of. 25 

distinctly  foreshadowed. 28 

Paraclete  a  member  of. 88 

mutual  converse  of 47 

our  relations  to 67 

executive  of. -    75 

God-Jehovah:    economy   of,  in- 
complete      26 

God's  communion:   broken  and 
restored 80 

Great  Commission :  meagre  giving 

for  the 158 

record  of  giving  of  the 159 


220 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Gregory  Nazianzen  :  quoted 52 

Hare,    Julius    Charles:    extract 

from 186 

Hamack,  Prof. :  statement  of 60 

Heresy:  meaning  of 116 

Holiness:  explanation  of 80 

synonymous  name  for 114 

IJoly  Ghost :  "  dies  natalis  "  of.....    19 

personality  of _    87 

office  of. 89 

work  of. 41 

communicates  power 44 

great  work  of  begun „...    64 

statement  of. „ 65 

all  filled  with 66 

baptized  in —    67 

unction  of. - 69 

incorporation    into    body    of 

Christ  through 69 

baptism  of  the 62 

unceasing  work  of. 62 

Tiew  of,  urged 68 

possession  of... _    70 

faith  toward 71 

traits  of. - 72 

blessings  of. 72 

ignorance  regarding 73 

Christ  begotten  by -    76 

fullness  of 76 

incidents  regarding 83,  84 

inheritance  in _    85 

the  gift  of -    92 

crisis  brought  by  a  full  recep- 
tion of. _ 94 

has  been  given 95 

present  office- work  of 99 

operation  of 108 

hidden  life  of. 120 

completed  in  us 126 

the  one  Administrator 129 

prerogative  of -  130 

insubordination  to 135 

appoints  leaders 136, 137 


FAQB 

Holy  Ghost:  elders  chosen  by 138 

ignoring  voice  of 139 

preaching  in  the 143 

inspiration  of,  ignored. 145 

God's  interpreter 147 

prayer  in  the 150 

office  of,  magnified 152 

unction  of. 156 

attempted  purchase  of -  158 

minute  directions  of 161 

action  of,  supreme 166 

renewing  power  of 169 

breathes  within  the  Bible 170 

position  regarding _ 172 

testimony  of  Paul  to 173 

regeneration  by „  176 

David's  words  concerning...™...  182 

disciples,  recipients  of. -  187 

presentation  of 190 

the  gift  of  the _ — 193 

sent  by  the  Lord..... 196 

temporal  mission  of. 205 

administration  of. 207 

age-ministry  of,  terminates 203 

Holy  Spirit :  lack  of  attention  to_  13 

consideration  of 14 

best  treatise  on _ -  14 

age-ministry  of. 14 

vagueness  of  doctrine  of 14 

Jesus'  presence  by lt> 

temporal  mission  of 15 

dispensation  of. 16 

made  partakers  of. 16 

came  into  the  world -  20 

resides  on  earth _  20 

abides  perpetually  in  church.....  21 

deference  paid  to 22 

indwelling  of. 24 

Son  revealed  by 24 

relation  of  stated  by  Tophel 25 

descent  of. - 26 

commended  by  Christ. 27 

office  of. - 80 

sent  down —  >1 


INDEX 


221 


PAGE 

Hol/  Spirit :  filled  with 32 

a  witness 32 

"  dies  natalis  "  of- 32 

named  by  our  Lord 35 

subordination  to 40 

distributes  the  estate 41 

the  divine  Conveyancer 42 

communicates  power 44 

advent  of. 49 

prays  with  church 60 

kietory  of. 65 

union  through  , 62 

duty  to  receive 68 

personality  of. 72 

Ignorance  regarding „    73 

reception  of  gift  of. 78 

our  signet  ring 79 

will  be  the  seal 80 

interprets  himself. 85 

is  the  anointing. 89 

recognition  of. 93 

agent  for 99 

power  of. 101 

conveyance  of. 105 

the  Executor 109 

subdues  sinful  nature Ill 

subjection  to ., 126 

designation  of. 129 

guidance  of. 131 

administration  of. 133 

in  church  service 142 

witness  of 144 

supremacy  of. 146 

prayer  inspired  by..... 149 

in  missions  of  the  church.........  159 

acts  and  speaks 170 

directing  power  of 176 

sovereign  individuality  of. 177 

iniaitableness  of. 177 

authenticates  books  for  us 180 

ground  of  conviction  of 189 

an  evangel  of  grace 198 

imparts  to  us 198 

church  translated  by 206 


PAOI 

Holy  Spirit :  Person  of  the  God- 
head  »  209 

work  of,  elective 209 

a  divine  agent 210 

Human  system  :  life  and  death ...    63 

Inspiration:  significance  of. -  165 

gospel  a  stereotyped „  167 

Scripture  given  by 168 

verbal,  essential 171 

Jesus  claims  verbal 173 

of  the  Holy  Ghost 173 

of  Scripture  writers 173, 174 

Irving,  Edward:  beautiful  state- 
ment of. 121 

quotation  from 204 

Isaiah :  passion-prophecy  of. 192 

reference  to „ 198 

James:  words  of. 209 

exhortation  of. 211 

Jesus:  surprising  saying  of. 19 

pre-existence  of. 19 

agent  in  creation 19 

birth  of. 20 

sublime  word  of. 20 

mysterious  saying  ot 21 

not  yet  glorified 25 

paschal  talk  of. 38 

atoning  blood  of. 39 

farewell  sermon  of 43,  44 

teaching  of. 46 

parousia  of. _ 49 

All  in  all „  61 

replies  of. 75 

full  of  the  Spirit 83 

spirit  of. 91 

significant  saying  of. 105 

question  of. 115 

scribes'  question  concerning.....  165 

words  of  concerning  Spirit 166 

doctrine  of. 169 

claims  of. 173 

charged  with  blasphemy 180 

limitation  of. 187 


222 


INDEX 


PAOB 

Jesus:  prophecy  at  birth  of 189 

literal  fulfillment  of  promise  of  194 

strange  paradox  of. 196 

words  of  at  the  cross. 199 

spake  literal  truth 199 

government  of 207 

Jesus  Christ:  ministry  of. 13 

time-ministry  of... 14 

gives  Great  Commission... 15 

dualism  of  teaching  of. 106 

Jews:  charge  of  against  Jesus......  180 

denial  of. 191 

church  gathered  from  the. _  205 

John:  mentioned 180 

Jordan:  symbolism  of. 104 

Jukes,  Andrew :  extract  from.. ..68,  69 
excerpt  from 107 

Kelly,  William :  observation  of._.69, 70 

Lee,    Inspiration    of   the  Holy 
Scriptures :  quotation  from.175,176 

Leper:  cleansing  of. 28 

Lord :  farewell  discourse  of.........    15 

question  concerning 21 

deference  paid  to 22 

glory  shines  forth  from 23 

presentation  of  sheaf. 29 

words  of  risen 81 

named  the  Holy  Ghost 85 

words   of    concerning  "Fara- 

cletos" 86 

Paraclete  distinct  from 88 

speaks  concerning  Spirit 89 

valedictory  discourse  of. 42 

return  of  to  glory 48 

dying  of. ~ 62 

complement  of  the  church.........    63 

resurrection  of. 64 

advent  of. 80 

appropriating  to  himself. 87 

assumed  prerogative  of. 100 

words  of  to  Nicodemua 101 

antithesis  of  two  natures  in 107 

oonstaut  word*  of. 108 


FAOl 

Lord :  fashioned  to  image  of. 118 

mystical  body  of. 119 

coming  of. 120 

experience  of. 123 

guiding  the  church 132 

post-ascension  gospel  of. 132 

ascent  of. 134 

calls  Saul  of  Tarsus 138 

power  of 1S7 

conditions  imposed  by 131 

voice  of  heard  in  church _  138 

commission  to  speak  for. 167 

Spirit  breathed  by 168 

testimony  of 169 

Apocalyptic  words  of. 170 

Abigail's  prayer  to _  180 

words  of,  concerning  Comforter  187 

messengers  sent  by 188 

a  sin  against  the 190 

exaltation  of. 195 

sent  the  Uoly  Ghost „  196 

harvest  at  return  of. 211 

Luther :  pointed  statement  of. 43 

wise  words  of. 172 

Manning,  Henry   E. :   quotation 

from 12 

best  treatise  from «  14 

Master:  instructions  of  to  disci- 
ples  36,37 

Method :  that  employed  in  writing  14 

Milton:  quotation  from 103 

Ministry:  of  Jesus 20 

Moberly:  divisions  of. 16 

quotation  from 18 

Morrison:  comment  of. 47 

Moule,  H.  C.  G. :  excerpt  from......  95 

Murray,  Andrew :  quotation  from  66 

Neander,   Church   History:    ex- 
cerpt from 168 

New  birth:  definition  of. 101 

acquirement  of. 102 

New  Testament  Scriptures:   au- 
thoritative voice  of  the  Lord..  167 


INDEX 


223 


PAGE 

Old  Testament:  words  of  Peter 

concerning 170 

as  oracles  of  God 180 

Olshausen's  Commentary:    note 
from 165,166 

Owen,  John :  summing  up  of. 82 

Paraclete:  sent  ty  Christ 24 

meaning  of. 35 

attributes  of.. 38 

•  conclusion  regarding. 39 

duties  of. 43 

teaching  of. 46 

difference  of. 49 

realization  of. 60 

question  and  answer  of. 170 

related  to  limitation  of  Jesus...  187 

certifies  to 193 

with  the  Father 195 

statement  concerning 205 

Parousia:  Lord's  second  coming..  49 
introduces  the  church 50 

Paschal  lamb :  typology  of. 29 

Paul:  epistles  of _ 41,  42 

words  of 71,  111,  112, 120, 180,  211 

exponent  of 83 

subject  of  preaching  of 143 

work  of 144 

words  of,  interpreted 172 

testimony  of... 173 

words  of,  before  Felix 200 

observation  of 209 

Pentecost:  work  inaugurated  at..  16 

styled  "  dies  natalis  " 19 

promise  fulfilled  at 20 

impossible  precedence  of. 28 

typology  of. 28 

predetermined 29 

has  come 81 

church  began  Its  history  at 63 

•tory  of. 55 

body  of  Christ  baptized  at „  57 

Holy  Ghost  descended  at..... 59 

foretaste  of. 70 


PAGB 

Pentecost:  once  for  all 72 

•Persons  of  the  Trinity :  deference 

of. _ 27 

Peter:  question  of. 83 

bold  testimony  of. 32 

deep  saying  of 104 

statement  of. 118 

reference  of  to  Old  Testament...  171 

talk  of,  on  Pentecost 194 

defense  of -  194 

words  of. 198 

inspired  saying  of. 210 

Prayer :  a  vital  element 146 

in  the  name  of  Jesus 147 

high  ground  regarding 151 

connected  with  Holy  Ghost 153 

Preaching:  importance  of. 143 

of  the  cross 144 

the  inspiration  of. 145 

Redemption  by  incarnation :  doc- 
trine of  in  vogue 67 

Regeneration:  what  is  it?- 101 

power  of. _ 102 

examples  of. 106 

Resurrection :  time  fixed  for 29 

Romans  eighth :  deep  teachings  of    22 

Roos:  quotation  from 46 

Rothe,  Dogmatics :  excerpt  from..  178 

Salvation :  two  sides  to 67 

Sanctification :  continuous 121 

instantaneousness  of. 125 

Saul  of  Tarsus:  sealed  with  the 
Spirit 138 

Saviour:    lived   before   incarna- 
tion  „    13 

redemptive  work  of,  completed.    80 

promise  of. 37 

follow  teachings  of. 42 

and  a  comparison „.     44 

departure  of,  conditioning. 49 

Scriptures:  teaching  of 14 

confounding  of G8 


224 


INDEX 


PAOB 

Scriptures :  examined,  regarding..    70 

giTen  by  inspiration 168' 

definition  of.. 169 

minute  study  of. 171 

literal  inspiration  of. 172 

the  style  of. 175 

divine  Author  of. 177 

alleged  discrepancies  of. 182 

veracity  of,  confirmed .. 182 

infallibility  of. 183 

contrast  exhibited  in 200 

harmony  of. 211 

Bheehinah :  resting-place  of. 23 

Son  of  God:  naming  of. 35 

self-emptying  of. 42 

Sonship:  doctrineof. 103 

Spirit:  descending  on  Jesus 19 

study  of  doctrine  of. -    19 

indwelling  of. 22 

sending  down  of. 24 

teaching  of. „    27 

typology  of. 29 

work  of,  begun 80 

history  of. 35 

best  dictionary  of. 36 

promise  of  advent  of..... 39 

the  measure  of  the  Son 40 

signified  time 48 

nature  and  offices  of. 49 

Influence  of,  manifested... 53 

baptistery  of 66 

baptism  of. 56 

walk  in - 57 

praying  in 57 

fell  on  house  of  Cornelius 59 

supreme  work  of. 60 

the  indwelling  of. 62 

enduement  of. 68,76 

gift  subsequent  to 69 

appropriation  of..... 70 

God's  gift 71 

reception  of— 71 

traits  of~ 72 

baptism  in_ 74 


MMB 
Spirit:  Christ  waited  for .............    76 

anointing  of.. 76 

sealing  of  the™ 77,  81 

possession  of. 79,  80 

great  office  of. 80 

fullness  of. 82 

reception  of 83 

infilling  of 84 

supreme  place  of 87 

anointing  of. 87 

sanctification  in.. 89 

of  God 90 

manifestation  of.. 90 

appellations  of. , 92 

Christian's  privilege  in 93 

illustrations  of  enduement  of. ...    93 

yearning  of. 94 

energy  of. 95 

communicates  to  us 99 

life  by 100 

incorporation  by 105 

of  holiness 107 

supremacy  of. Ill 

effects  exclusion  of  sin.. 112 

behind  all 113 

surrender  to. 115 

of  glory 118 

change  wrought  by 119 

working  in  us 121 

perfecting  power  of 122 

descent  of. 134 

power  of,  ignored 140 

is  the  breath  of  God 141 

dispensation  of  the 146 

doctrine  of  the 148 

deepest  work  of.. 149 

ministry  of. 150 

strengthening  power  of 154 

access  by,  unto  the  Father ~  154 

method  of. 155 

inspirer  of  worship 156 

imitation  of. 157 

story  of. 109 

directing  enterprises 160,  161 


INDfiX 


225 


PACK 

Spirit :  Christians  possessors  of...  105 

Jesus'  words  concerning 166 

authoritative  voice  of. 168 

intercedes  for  us 173 

thoughts  regarding 175 

of  Christ  necessary 179 

universal  diffusion  of. 187 

conviction  of. „ 188 

sent  unto  the  church 188 

the  witness  to  grace 189 

proceeds  from  God 195 

sent  to  convince  the  world 197 

reflects  Christ 197 

co-witness  of 200 

distinctive  work  of.....  ...  206 


PAflB 

Spirit:  elective  work  of,  completed  211 

Stephen:  words  of 180 

error  in  statement  of. 182 

Streams  of  life :  two  contrasted...  104 

Testimonies:  of  new  life 74 

Tophel,  Pastor :  quotation  from...  25 

excerpt  from..... 98 

criticism  of...l 142 

Types:  accuracy  of. 28 

foretell  accurately.. 89 

Webb,  Bishop:  extract  from 60 

Word  of  God  :  a  unique  book 170 

infallible 188 


BT 
1*1,2. 


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